When Courtney Duncan’s name was missing from the WMX entry list for the opening round in Sardinia, questions quickly arose regarding her absence. DRT Kawasaki team boss Steve Dixon initially provided an update, revealing that the Kiwi was dealing with a ‘respiratory condition.’ However, Duncan has now spoken out, offering further insight into her health struggles and confirming that she may miss more than just the opening round.
In an update shared on social media, the reigning WMX champion detailed her recent battle with pericarditis – an inflammation of the heart lining – which has kept her sidelined for the past six to eight weeks. Despite no long-term damage, her recovery timeline remains uncertain, with doctors advising rest rather than intense training. While she remains determined to return to racing as soon as possible, Duncan acknowledged that patience will be key in her journey back to full fitness. We would like to wish her all the best with the recovery.
Duncan posted the following update on social media:
“I just want to give you guys an update on my current situation. There’s been a lot of messages come through and obviously speculation around why my name’s not on the entry list this weekend in Sardinia. I just want to give you a full rundown of what’s been going on”.
“About six-eight weeks ago, I got really sick. Just out of nowhere, I had a severe chest pain, shortness of breath, dizzy and ended up in hospital. At first, no one could work out what was going on and I was in and out of hospital, I think four or five times. I got referred through to the cardiologist and went through for further tests and scans and MRIs and all that carry on. Since then I’ve being diagnosed with pericarditis, so for those that don’t know what pericarditis is, it’s inflammation on the lining of the heart. It is pretty serious, especially when the word heart’s involved”.
“So the past eight weeks have been tough. I’ve been unable to do any form of exercise, slowly over the last few weeks, being able to try and do a little bit of low intensity but still struggling to get through that at the moment. It’s been really tough. You realize how important your health is, that’s for sure”.
“There is some good news, the good news is there’s no long-term damage. There’s no permanent damage done to the heart and there’s nothing to say that it’s not curable and we’ll get back to 100%. The downfall to that is we don’t know how long that’s going to take. It just all depended on different people, and it can take longer for some and a bit shorter for others. We are doing everything we can to be back as quick as possible, but it’s like the opposite towards an injury where you work harder, you make sure you come back stronger and you’re ready to go. This one has the opposite effect. You have to do less to get better”.
“The more you do, the worse the symptoms get and it prolongs the recovery, which we’ve found out over the last few weeks. That’s pretty much how it goes. After discussions with the medical team, and my team, we’ve decided that it’s safest and best to withdraw from the first round of the world championship and perhaps the first part of the season, which is, like I said, it’s pretty tough to accept”.
“I mean, we’re even struggling to get through a 30-minute walk bike session at the moment with low resistance. So, I think reality goes, I wouldn’t even be able to be there. So yeah, that’s how it goes right now”.
“Obviously, I want to give a huge shout out to my friends, my family, the whole Hyper fluence Sport New Zealand team, the medical team, all my doctors and stuff for helping me get through these past six to eight weeks. Obviously my team, my sponsors, DRT Kawasaki, Fox Racing, Monster Energy, for being understanding through these times and allowing me to be patient with this illness. So, it’s always nice to know that they care about you as a person, not just as a racer”.
“It’s obviously frustrating times at the moment, but at the same time, there’s nothing we can do. These are the cards that we are dealt with, we woke up one day, you know, in severe pain and it turns out that we have pericarditis. So, I’m doing all I can now to recover as fast as I can. Hopefully I can see you guys back out there soon. A huge thank you for the support”.
