At 23, Savoyard Océane Michelon is competing in the first Olympic Games of her career in Milan-Cortina. Rising star of the French biathlon, regularly ranked among the best in the world, she could nevertheless have seen her Olympic dream disappear. The cause: a serious heart problem, diagnosed and treated in the midst of his sporting career. A challenge overcome at the cost of great lucidity… and a foolproof mentality.
A heart that gives out under effort
On the slopes, Océane Michelon impresses with her regularity and solidity. Fifth in the general world ranking during the last competitions, she has established herself as one of the great French hopes. However, this promising trajectory has faltered.
In the spring of 2023, the biathlete had to undergo heart surgery, after several seasons marked by worrying episodes.
“I had heart problems. It started in October 2021… I had tachycardia during exercise“, she confided in October 2023 in Biathlon Live. The first crisis occurs during the Summer Tour d’Arçon, then the episodes repeat themselves.
“That’s what bothered me the most“, she explains again. The palpitations, brutal and uncontrolled, disrupt her training and her performances, but above all raise a dizzying question: will she be able to continue high-level sport?
“If there is no career, it doesn’t matter”
The diagnosis is slow to be made. “Since we didn’t know what it was and it was a little scary, I heard myself say: ‘If there’s no career, it doesn’t matter.’ “, she says.
A difficult sentence to accept for an athlete who has built her entire life around her sport: “When you’ve been living and training for this for years… it was a pretty tough part of my sporting history.”
In April 2023, she finally underwent a “very very gentle” surgical procedure, she says, intended to correct the rhythm disorder. A decisive operation.
Understanding exercise tachycardia
The phenomenon mentioned by the biathlete corresponds to what doctors call a exercise tachycardia.
Dr Gérald Kierzek explains: “It is a
excessive or abnormal increase in heart rate during physical exercise. It can be benign, but also reveal an underlying pathology requiring in-depth exploration.”
Possible causes include rhythm disturbances, such as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), extrasystoles or atrial fibrillations. Other origins may be structural (cardiomyopathies, myocarditis) or non-cardiac (anemia, dehydration, hormonal disorders, altitude).
The symptoms are often telling: sudden palpitations, excessive shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, even discomfort. Specific tests (exercise ECG, Holter, echocardiography) make it possible to precisely identify the cause.
A possible career after a weakened heart?
The question is central: can we pursue a high-level sporting career after a heart problem?
The answer largely depends on the diagnosis. In the case of Océane Michelon, everything suggests that it was a functional rhythm disorder, probably a SVT, corrected by ablation.
“This type of pathology, once treated and controlled, does not prevent the resumption of sport, including at high level, under strict medical supervision.”
Conversely, severe organic heart disease can impose limitations, rest or even a cessation of competition. Hence the importance of a precise diagnosis and specialized care.
A heart repaired, an athlete revived
Since the operation, the signals have been reassuring for Océane. Despite a few isolated episodes of tachycardia, as in Antholz in January 2025, the Savoyard has regained all her abilities.
“We did a little check-up again in the spring of 2025 and it turns out that there are no longer any signs of anything… The doctor told me: “I think it’s OK””she confides.
In the Olympic starting blocks, the only heart that guides her is now the one she puts into her sport.