Rebecka Vitesson Returns to Competition Post-ACL Surgery
Flashback to the 2024 European CrossFit Semifinal. Rebecka Vitesson was riding the momentum from her rookie run at the CrossFit Games and trying to secure her next appearance when it all came crashing down.
Vitesson tore her ACL during one of the events at the French Throwdown Semifinal. Four weeks later, she was in surgery and facing a long recovery process. It was the third ACL tear of her career.
Now, 17 months after the initial injury, she’s back and ready to rejoin the elite CrossFit ranks.
- “As expected, it takes time. And some would even say how far I’ve come already is much further than anyone would in this kind of scenario,” Vitesson tells Morning Chalk Up in an interview. “But I also struggle with a lot more pain than I had in my previous ACL surgeries. So it’s been rough, but then at the same time I’m able to do so much more.”
When Vitesson fell to the competition floor at the Semifinal, there was a lot of criticism for the delayed response from event organizers and medical staff. She recalls lying on the floor for a while without anyone coming to help her. Then, when they did come to her aid, they asked if she wanted to continue competing.
Vitesson continued in the event, but the instability in her knee caused another fall.
- “I remember, like the day after, I had a talk with my coach, and I said, I’m already 30. This is the end. I’m done,” Vitesson says. Her coach quickly dismissed that and told her she hadn’t even peaked yet.
Vitesson underwent surgery and grinded through the rehab process. She didn’t return to the competition floor until the Belgrade Games in September 2025. While it was good to get back on the floor, Vitesson says her strength has still not returned to 100%, and plyometric movements remain a struggle.
Even so, she finished fourth at the Belgrade Games.
- “I think the hardest time is actually right now,” she said. “Where I’m not 100% back, but I know where I want to be. So having that patience and trusting that I will get back and be even better is the hardest.”
The mental toll of injury and elite competition weighs on Vitesson as she tries to make her return this year. However, support from her sponsors and fans has helped her find the energy and motivation to keep going.
She is currently in the middle of the Wodapalooza qualifiers — the first week just wrapped up — and while Vitesson hadn’t planned on redoing any of the workouts because she doubted she could do better, she gave the first two another shot, improving her scores on both.
- “The feeling, not only that I did better, but that feeling that I got doing them again. I finally felt that fire back in me that I haven’t felt for a long time,” she added.
Featured image: @vitesson / Instagram
