[throwawaycities]

To your second question, yes, heart inflammation doesn’t mean they can’t participate, participate at a high level, or that the athlete even notices any issue. It means they have heart inflammation which carries associated risks both long term and acute. If you are looking for anecdotal evidence, there are plenty of athletes that talk about post covid struggles that include a range of issues impacting performance (i.e. reduced cardio, more labored breathing, brain fog).