Rio 2016: Greg Rutherford putting hearing at risk to defend Olympic gold medal
OLYMPIC champion Greg Rutherford has revealed he will put his HEARING at risk to defend his gold medal at the Rio Games.
The long jumper has contracted a rare disorder in his ear after suffering whiplash at an event in Birmingham last month.
Greg Rutherford says he is putting his hearing at risk to defend his Olympic crownRutherford won Olympic Gold on Super Saturday at London 2012
The 29-year-old, who won Olympic Gold in London, has been diagnosed with cochlear hydrops, a condition that causes one in four people to partially lose their hearing forever.
He said: “I’ve gone from stereo to mono
“If the room falls silent for a moment, all I hear is white noise.
“It’s a struggle to sleep, and if it wasn’t Olympic year I would quite possibly take time out to get it sorted.”
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Rutherford, who will also defend his European crown this week, added: “It’s quite scary to hear that because you always get told there’s a one in 20,000 chance or a one in a million chance about things.
“During your career you put yourself in peak physical condition but then you bear the brunt of it for the rest of your life. I’ll have to take that risk.
“I don’t think there are many long jumpers who can say they have jumped so hard that have lost their hearing. I hope it won’t affect my jumping.”
Rutherford is in Amsterdam to defend his European gold medal
In a troubled year of preparation, Rutherford has also had appendicitis.
He said. “It was probably the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life.
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