Gwen Jorgensen Has Surgery to Correct Haglund's Deformity

By Adam Kopet

Gwen Jorgensen announced on YouTube that she has had surgery for Haglund's deformity, a bone enlargement on the heel, and is expected to miss the next three to four months as she recovers.

This is the same surgery Galen Rupp had following the 2018 Chicago Marathon, which also happened to be Jorgensen's last race. Rupp has since returned to training, but he has not announced any upcoming races.

Jorgensen's recovery timeline places doubt on her ability to race a fall marathon. If she is to qualify for the Olympic marathon, she will likely have to achieve the Olympic standard at the Olympic Trials.

Jorgensen won gold in triathlon at the 2016 Olympics. She retired from triathlon afterward and decided to focus on running full time with the goal of winning Olympic gold in the marathon.

Her adaptation to the marathon has not gone as smoothly as she would have hoped. She finished 11th in the 2018 Chicago Marathon, running 2:36:23. That is enough to qualify for the Olympic Trials marathon, but she will need to be able to run seven minutes faster to qualify for the Olympics.