Jim Gottfridsson may not be a household name, but search his name online and you’ll discover his distinguished handball career.
The Swedish center back is a five-time club champion, which includes the EHF Champions League, the premier European handball competition. On the Swedish national team, Gottfridsson won a European championship in 2022 and is a two-time MVP of that event.
Gottfridsson is a passionate player on the court — coming into the offensive zone with blazing speed to fire off shots or make no-look passes to teammates.
But off the court, he’s prone to dangerous fatigue, reaching an extreme level of tiredness where he falls asleep unexpectedly.
He recalled one particularly frightful instance, seven years ago when he was 24 years old. He was driving 120 km/h (75 mph) on the highway from Sweden to Germany with his wife and first child when his wife grabbed the wheel in panic.
“What the hell are you doing?” Gottfridsson remembers his wife asking.
“I’m driving,” Gottfridsson said.
“No, you were sleeping.”
It wasn’t until last February when Gottfridsson was diagnosed with sleep apnea – a sleep-related breathing disorder that interrupts regular breathing patterns, resulting in sleep disruption. According to the National Council on Aging, 936 million people worldwide are estimated to have mild to severe sleep apnea. Approximately eighty percent of sleep apnea cases go undiagnosed, per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
For Gottfridsson, it answered why he was tired all the time.
“I can sleep everywhere,” Gottfridsson said.
Growing up, Gottfridsson was often exhausted. Whether it was waiting for a haircut or going to the doctor, Gottfridsson would close his eyes.
When he started playing handball as a teenager, Gottfridsson was tired. Getting fatigued is common in the sport, but for Gottfridsson, it was constant.
Even after the incident on the highway, Gottfridsson never addressed the problem. Like many professional athletes who go through injuries, Gottfridsson adopted the attitude that “it will be better.”
He didn’t want to stop playing professional handball, both on the national team or in the German Handball-Bundesliga, the top European league in the world. He enjoyed practicing three to four times a week, playing two games weekly and traveling with his team on a bus.
Being active, according to Gottfridsson, distracts him from wanting to sleep. Whether it’s walking, playing cards or competing in handball. Anything to stay alert.
“Since I was a child, I was always active,” Gottfridsson said. “It’s like a small child. When they are tired, they are hyperactive. They have to do something.”
However, the symptoms persisted. Teammates knew he was always tired and sleeping. He showed up to games exhausted. Where it impacted Gottfridsson the most was at home. A father of two young kids, Gottfridsson likes to play with them, games like memory or wrestling on the floor.
But even that was interrupted by Gottfridsson falling asleep. That’s when his wife said that something needed to change.
“You need to shake it up,” Gottfridsson remembers his wife telling him.
In February, Gottfridsson went to a hospital in Germany to find the root cause. He underwent a test that monitors how the body functions during sleep. Sensors are affixed to the skin, which tracks different body systems.
After Gottfridsson underwent the test, he told doctors that he had a good sleep. Doctors told Gottfridsson that their tests showed the opposite.
When most people take 20 minutes to fall asleep, Gottfridsson can in a matter of seconds.
The reason? A blocked left nostril impacts his breathing during sleep. This is due to Gottfridsson’s four broken noses during his career.
“My nose is terrible,” Gottfridsson said. “I can’t get any air on my left side.”
Doctors provided Gottfridsson with a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine as a treatment. By providing continuous pressurized air through a tube, its goal is to prevent breathing lapses during sleep.
Surgery was also an option. But Gottfridsson decided to manage the sleep apnea without surgery. He didn’t want to miss an opportunity to represent Sweden at his third Olympic Games.
Now, Sweden is in the quarterfinals of the men’s handball competition. They take on Denmark on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals.
Gottfridsson is playing for more than just his first Olympic medal. He is showing how to navigate being a professional athlete while dealing with sleep apnea.
Since the diagnosis, a burden has been lifted. Gottfridsson’s teammates now know what he’s going through. So does the rest of the world. Gottfridsson says he draws inspiration from other athletes going through physical and mental challenges. He isn’t afraid to talk about living with sleep apnea. His positive attitude guides him through difficult moments of fatigue.
“It’s very important to talk about it now when I know what I have,” Gottfridsson said. “Maybe there will be some woman, some guy, some teenager who are also very tired. You check it out before it goes a long time, like for me.
“It’s OK to speak about the problem. It’s also important to know you can also practice, and you can be good at the sport, even if you are 10 years old and you have this.”
Gottfridsson is one win away from playing for his first Olympic medal. With help from his doctors, the Swedish handballer hopes he gets a good night’s sleep before the biggest match of his career.
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(Photo: Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)
