Champion Mladin Overcame Epstein-Barr In 2003, Or, Proof That He Is The Toughest Man We Have Ever Met

Champion Mladin Overcame Epstein-Barr In 2003, Or, Proof That He Is The Toughest Man We Have Ever Met

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Mat Mladin was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus in the middle of the 2003 season and won the AMA Superbike Championship despite suffering extreme fatigue caused by the virus.

Epstein-Barr virus is a herpes virus that causes acute infectious mononucleosis, with symptoms that include extreme fatigue, sore throat and fever. There is no cure for the disease, although symptoms usually decrease within a few months.

Responding today via e-mail to a Roadracingworld.com rumor-control inquiry made yesterday, Mladin wrote:

“I was diagnosed with the virus about a month after Laguna. As everybody is aware I pulled out of the WSB second race (at Laguna). It was in mine and the other competitors’ best interest that I did this as about 10 laps into the first race things started to happen that were a little scary, double vision, etc. I actually struggled to hold myself up under braking and just felt like lying on the tank.

“At Pikes Peak I started feeling a little funny and run down, I thought that maybe I had overtrained and everything would return to normal after a rest.

“I didn’t think anything else of it until Laguna on Saturday afternoon after the AMA race and I could hardly get off the bike from fatigue. I said to my wife that something is wrong. I went and had all the usual bloodwork and stuff done and was told that I have Epstein-Barr.

“A few weeks before Laguna my training was going nowhere and generally I was feeling tired. Alot of people noticed after the Ohio races that I was in bad shape. After the first race I couldn’t see straight again. Having that battle with Kurtis (Roberts) really took it out of me. Walking onto the podium was an all-out effort.

“After Ohio was when the diagnosis was made, so I told my boys that I have to rest as much as possible to keep as much gas in the tank as possible for racing. We started doing a lot less laps than normal and at a much lower intensity during practice and qualifying. There was a lot of stuff going on but we ended up getting the job done and that’s all that counts.

“I learnt alot about training, recovery and myself through all this. I am feeling much better already. I have four months till Daytona and I will be in my best shape ever for 2004 to go for (AMA Superbike Championship) number five.”

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