Tommaso Giacomel, ablation after race illness: surgery ok, but World Cup at risk

Reduced from the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, where he has to the silver medal in the mixed biathlon relay along with Lukas Hofer, Dorothea Wierer and Lisa Vittozzi, Tommaso Giacomel has successfully undergone cardiac ablation surgery, a non-invasive procedure made necessary after a recent medical checkup carried out by the biathlete, who in the mass start had been forced to retire while leading due to a slight illness. The FISI, on Tuesday, issued an official bulletin regarding the condition of the blue man.

“Tommaso Giacomel concluded the series of diagnostic investigations at the Galeazzi Hospital in Milan carried out by the FISI Medical Commission in collaboration with Professor Daniele Andreini, where he underwent a CT scan, an MRI and a maximal stress test, all of which were found to be within normal limits. A subsequent electrophysiological study showed an electrical conduction abnormality at the atrial level, which recommended a subsequent ablation, which has already been performed and was perfectly successful”.

Francesco Lucivero

“Tommaso will be discharged Thursday morning and in two weeks he will undergo further checks already scheduled that, once passed, will allow him to return to training regularly” the Federation then concluded, thus hinting that Giacomel will not be available for the World Cup trip to Finland and remains in doubt for the next one in Estonia, but could be part of the Italian team in the CdM finale, in Norway.

From a sporting point of view, this is a bitter response for Giacomel, who at the World Cup interruption for the Olympic Games was second in the overall standings, with just 37 points to make up on leader Eric Perrot. Giacomel is also in danger of losing his lead in the Sprint standings, where he leads with 309 points to Sebastian Samuelsson&#8217s 274 and Perrot&#8217s 241 with still two specialty events to complete until the end of the season.