Wrestling-Legende Bret Hart hat Krebs

Die Wrestling-Community steht unter Schock: Bret Hart ist an Prostata-Krebs erkrankt.

"Ich werde mich in den kommenden Tagen einer Operation unterziehen und hoffe, diesen Feind zu besiegen", erklärt der 58-Jährige. Für Hart ein weiterer Schicksalsschlag, nachdem sein Bruder Owen, ebenfalls begnadeter Wrestler, 1999 bei einem Unfall im Ring ums Leben kam. 2002 erlitt Bret einen Schlaganfall, von dem er sich nur langsam erholte.

"Ich habe genug Zeit damit verbracht, den Preis für die Jahre zu bezahlen, in denen ich versuchte, der Beste zu sein."

Hart, Spitzname "The Hitman", gehörte in den 90er Jahren zu den größten Wrestling-Stars der Welt, im deutschsprachigen Raum gilt er als beliebtester Sports-Entertainer aller Zeiten. In der WWF (Vorgänger der WWE) wurde er fünfmal World Heavyweight Champion, in der Konkurrenz-Liga WCW zweimal.

Sein Leitspruch als Aktiver war: "The best there is, was, and ever will be."

It is with great remorse that I feel compelled to speak truthfully to my friends, family and my millions of fans around the world. In the past few years, I've spent more than enough time paying the price for all those years trying to be the best there ever was as a professional wrestler. I executed excellently and my proudest claim was that I never seriously hurt or injured another wrestler in my 23 year career. I've paid a price for all that "fake" wrestling ... Mark Helprin wrote: "We are all perfect clocks that Divinity has set to ticking when, even before birth, the heart explodes into a lifelong dance." I've had a great lifelong dance and I'm a survivor of many hard battles. I now face my toughest battle. With hesitation and fear, I openly declare myself in my fight against prostate cancer. In the next few days, I will undergo surgery with the hope of defeating this nemesis once and for all. My fans have always looked upon me as a hero and I've always done my best to live up to that in and out of the ring. I beat the odds when I suffered my stroke in 2002, but it is now yet again, that I ... stand unafraid and face the tough road ahead of me, I will march toward this destiny with his spirit chanting in my ear. I make a solemn vow to all of those that once believed in me, the dead and the living, that I will wage my fearsome fight against cancer with one shield and one sword carrying my determination and my fury for life, emboldened by all the love that's kept me going this long already. Love is my weapon and I've got much of it around me all the time, for which I'm truly blessed and eternally grateful. My children, grandchildren, and my loving wife Steph have been and will constantly be at my side. I refuse to lose, I will never give in or give up, and I will win this battle or die trying. Most important of all, I hope can take the fight to prostate cancer. To be a leader in awareness and to set the example for men everywhere who find themselves in my very same shoes, that prostate cancer can be beaten. B x

Ein von Bret (@brethitmanhart) gepostetes Foto am 1. Feb 2016 um 8:28 Uhr