Emil Johansson

MUSINGS FROM A COACH - 4 MARCH '26

In the world of mountain biking Freestyle and Slopestyle, one name continually is on top at world-class events each year: Emil Johansson. The Swedish MTBer is a generational athlete in this sport and seems to continually push himself to the limits.

Although he's been through both severe illness as well as injuries in the past, nothing truly prepared him for his bad MTB accident last year at the RedBull Rampage in Utah in the Finals. I am pasting his injury update directly from the article in PinkBike written this week.

I have spent recent years working with elite athletes focusing on the precipitous relationship between DRIVE and GRATITUDE and how we must always find that elusive balance between the two.

Hopefully, after reading Emil's update, we can all reflect a bit more on the Gratitude side...

Today, it has been more than 4 months since my accident in Utah and I feel like it is time for me to break my radio silence regarding everything. I have been trying to get my words together for so long... I've tried to write this so many times, probably a hundred different versions by now, but nothing ever felt right. Well, here's another attempt...

What was first "just" a dislocated hip turned out to be far more complicated. I underwent my first acute surgery the day after the crash in October...followed by 6 weeks on crutches. When I got off the crutches and started walking, something didn't feel right. New scans revealed a fully torn and retracted iliopsoas muscle - the primary hip flexor and one very important muscle for everything I do as an athlete.

A torn iliopsoas muscle is a very rare injury and the expertise in the area is slim. Thanks to the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre, we found the best surgeon for the job and at the end of December, I underwent my second surgery, in an attempt to reattach the iliopsoas to give me a real chance to return to full capacity and performance. The surgery went well and they managed to relocate the muscle to the femur after drilling a hole through my femur to anchor it.

The weeks after were the toughest I've faced. Wearing a hip brace 24/7. Severe nerve pain. Loss of quad function. Nights without sleep.

Weeks went by, and to further understand why I had the severe nerve pain, I went in for another scan after 3 weeks. The new MRI showed that the repair of my fully torn muscle did not stand the test of time and had retracted again at some point after the surgery.

The combination of the major surgery, added nerve trauma and additional scar tissue buildup around the retracted iliopsoas were among the many reasons for the loss of nerve function. To go in again to try to repair the torn muscle is no longer an option, as the risk of permanent nerve damage is too high. That's when it stopped being about trying to repair what's broken and became about protecting my ability to live and move long term and play the cards I'm dealt.

Over the past few weeks, my nerve pain has eased off and what remains is a significant loss of function in my quads and this is currently my biggest challenge...

Today, it's been 10 weeks since my last surgery and I have now progressed to a level where I can walk around without crutches on flat ground relatively ok. But progress is measured in small steps. The nerve is still not fully responding and due to that, I have no ability yet to extend my leg. The nerve is still healing and there's no clear timeline. Just patience, discipline and belief in the process.

This has been the most humbling period of my life - going from peak performance to fighting for basic function. But I'm grateful to still be here and to still have a path forward.

Thank you to everyone who's supporting me through this. And to the team around me who pick me up when I can't and continue to stand with me.

The work continues." — Emil Johansson 

Gratefully,

Mark

CEO Team MPI