2021 Olympic silver medalist Courtney Frerichs announced that she will miss the 2024 outdoor season after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL on her right knee.

Here's what you need to know:

– Frerichs shared the following on Instagram on Sunday afternoon: "Sometimes this sport will just break your heart over and over again 💔 Wednesday I had surgery to reconstruct my ACL and repair a torn meniscus in my right knee. Last month, two days before what was supposed to be my first race of the outdoor season, we were practicing water jumps when my knee hyperextended in the water pit resulting in a complete tear of my ACL and tears in both my medial and lateral menisci. There have been many tears and my brain has tried to make sense of all this and what went wrong. As runners we tend to view things systematically, but truth is this was a freak accident that comes with the inherent risk of being a steeplechaser combined with my hyper-mobile body. I am absolutely heartbroken to be missing this season- especially it being an Olympic year, but I keep reminding myself that a single season doesn’t define me or my running career."

– Frerichs became just the second woman in history to medal in the steeplechase at the Olympics with her silver at the Summer Games in Tokyo. Emma Coburn, who will also miss the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials after breaking her foot at the Shanghai Diamon League, was the first woman to medal at the Games with her bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Coburn and Frerichs also went 1-2 at the 2017 World Championships in London.

– Frerichs competed at last year's U.S. Championships and managed to advance to the final but withdrew due to an ankle injury. It marked the first time she missed a U.S. team for a global championship for the first time since 2015.

– The only U.S. women with the Olympic standard in the steeplechase are Krissy Gear, Courtney Wayment, Olivia Markezich, Gabby Jennings, Madie Boreman and Marisa Howard. 2021 Olympian Val Constien and Kaylee Mitchell with a good opportunity to run under 9:23.00 next week at the Pre Classic. Constein spoke about her chances of making the team on this week's episode of The CITIUS MAG Podcast.