Jolanda Neff gives up Olympic spot

Defending Olympic mountain bike champion Jolanda Neff will not race in Paris this summer. The Swiss racer announced that she will give up her spot due to ongoing breathing issues.

Neff says that, while her lungs are healthy, “my voice cords love to stick together when I breathe which causes a mechanical obstruction in my throat so that the air never arrives in my lungs.”

The Trek Factory Racing rider is working on treating this issue, and says doing so does not require medication. Instead, she is focusing on learning a new breathing pattern.

Road to recovery runs out of room

The good news is that Neff is back to racing. She recently took part in her first event since the Nove Mesto World Cup in May.

“My breathing was a lot lot better and didn‘t cause issues – huge relief! However, by having missed so much training and racing, my shape is not on a level where I am competitive. Not on a national level, let alone on an Olympic level.”

Making from for Frei

In an incredibly classy move, Neff decided that meant she should decline her spot on the Swiss Olympic Team. With each nation only allowed to send two female riders and two male riders, at maximum (most are allowed only one), each spot is fiercely contested and hard-earned.

“I don‘t want to race the Olympic Games when I don‘t feel ready to represent my country in the best possible way with all my heart and passion,” Neff explained. “I have taken the decision to pass my place on and Sina Frei will race at the Olympics instead of me.”

The Olympic champion added her well wishes to Frei in Paris, saying “I wish Sina all the best from the bottom of my heart!”

Neff was part of a Swiss trio that swept the women’s mountain bike podium at the Tokyo Olympic Games just three years ago. Linda Indergand and Sina Frei were on the podium with her. Frei earned silver and Indergand bronze.

With Neff stepping aside, Indergand and Frei will both return to the Games this year when they land in Paris.

Jolanda Neff’s full statement

First of all, thank you to everyone who sent me a message in the last weeks

Thanks to my 5th place at the first World Cup of the year, I qualified for my 3rd Olympic Games in Paris. Thank you Swiss Cycling and Swiss Olympic Team for your trust and great support!

However, after a terrible race at the world cup in Nove Mesto we did extensive tests and found out that a) my…