Shiffrin Suffers Serious Fall: Winter Skiing Hazards and Injuries

2024-01-26 19:40:00

13 days following Aleksander Aamodt Kilde’s serious fall, his partner Mikaela Shiffrin was also hit. The American was pushed backwards following a jump during the descent on the “Olimpia delle Tofane” and crashed into the safety fence at high speed. It took a few seconds for the piste rescuers to reach the scene of the accident.

A few minutes later, Shiffrin stood up once more following first aid was given by rescue workers. Supported by her ski poles like crutches, the 28-year-old limped to the exit of the slope with the help of the helpers.

Shiffrin was unable to put any weight on her left leg, indicating a knee injury. She was then transported away by helicopter. The record World Cup winner started the race with start number 8.

“She jumped very far and tried to get into the goal. Her knee twisted quite a bit. The binding of the ski with which she drove head-on into the A-net didn’t come undone,” said Eurosport expert Victoria Rebensburg.

Memories of the Kilde fall are awakened

“Shiffrin’s fall has a certain similarity to that of her friend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who also flew directly into the A-net,” Rebensburg continued. The Norwegian suffered serious injuries to his leg and leg during the downhill classic on the Lauberhorn in Wengen Shoulder strained. The 31-year-old then underwent multiple operations.

Horrible fall on the finish slope: Kilde crashes violently into the safety fence

The US Ski Association posted a message from Shiffrin to her teammates on “X” (formerly Twitter) a few minutes following the accident. Accordingly, the leader in the overall World Cup spoke to the US athletes’ WhatsApp group with encouraging words following the race had been interrupted for a long time and some other riders were in distress: Everything is fine, ladies. The surface is great, you can do it!

Shiffrin crashes in Cortina – easy all-clear

Team Shiffrin reported a slight all-clear in the followingnoon: The Olympic champion was taken to the clinic in Cortina by ambulance. There she is examined for an injury to her left leg. Initial examinations showed that both the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments appeared to be intact. Further details on the extent of the injury will follow.

In addition to Shiffrin, Federica Brignone from Italy and the Swiss Corinne Suter from the top group were also caught in the same place. While Brignone was unable to stay on her skis, downhill Olympic champion Suter was injured following the jump in the compression in front of the left-hand bend, which was fatal for several racers, including Priska Nufer (Switzerland). This was also the case for her compatriot Michelle Gisin, who crashed into the fence at full speed, then shook herself vigorously and fortunately remained uninjured.

“That doesn’t exist”: Swiss Gisin also falls in Cortina

Although at a different location, the “Tofana” also became the downfall of Emma Aicher from the German Ski Association (DSV). The 20-year-old mastered the key point with flying colors before falling following a long jump following 43 seconds of driving time. “I think everything is fine,” the young racer signaled to the track staff immediately following her fall.

Aicher falls on the descent and crashes into the safety fence

“The route is a little different than in recent years,” said Kira Weidle in the “ZDF” interview following the race and added: “There are more jumps and more waves from top to bottom. If the direction or the movement is not 100 percent true, you’ll have big problems, as you’ve seen.” Because of the number of falls, you almost have to be happy to have reached the finish safely.

Winter skiing causes numerous injuries

In the run-up to the departure of the Cortina d’Ampezzo speed weekend, the women were only able to complete one training run on Thursday.

The 2023/2024 World Cup winter is overshadowed by numerous falls and serious injuries. For the men, Marco Schwarz (Austria/torn cruciate ligament), Kilde, Alexis Pinturault (France/torn cruciate ligament) and Marco Kohler (Switzerland/torn cruciate ligament) had to end the season early.

Last week, Shiffrin’s main competitor in the technical disciplines, Petra Vlhova, fell badly in the giant slalom in Jasna. The Slovakian suffered a cruciate and medial ligament injury.

Shiffrin exclusively on crashes and stressful racing calendar

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