Olympic biathlete undergoes heart surgery after withdrawing from race mid-competition

An Olympic athlete was forced to undergo heart surgery after withdrawing from a race at Milan Cortina. 

Italian biathlete Tommaso Giacomel decided not to participate in the 15-kilometer mass start due to breathing issues.

"A subsequent electrophysiological study revealed an atrial conduction abnormality, which recommended a subsequent ablation, which has already been performed and was a complete success," the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) announced Tuesday. 

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"Tommaso will be discharged on Thursday morning and will undergo further scheduled checks in two weeks. Once completed, he will be allowed to return to regular training."

Giacomel wrote on his Instagram story that he was "gutted" that his season was "over."

"I'm okay - if I can say I am okay when I had to DNF while I was leading an Olympic race…" Giacomel wrote in an Instagram post last week with a photo of himself from a hospital bed.

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"Right after the second prone my body somehow stopped working properly and I was really struggling to breath and to move, therefore I had to stop. Worst feeling I have ever experienced in my life so far. I tried to ski really slow the first part of the third lap but my body wasn't allowing me to ski anymore.

"A lot is going through my head at the moment… frustration, anger, disappointment… It's devastating. It's devastating to stop but there wasn't anything I could do against my own body today. Absolutely not the end of the games I was hoping for but I will never give up. 4 years fly by fast and I will try again in France. I will do some medical checks the next days to find out what went wrong today.. I'll keep you posted. Thank you for the tremendous support."

Earlier in the Games, Giacomel earned a silver medal in the mixed relay. He has three other silver medals from world championships and five victories in Biathalon World Cups.

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