2024-03-20 09:32:32
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This is not how Leona Popovic imagined the end of the season to end.
It happened at the last slalom of the winter. Leona Popovic (26) was eliminated following less than ten seconds of driving in the second run. The Croatian falls and immediately gets back up. As a result, she grabs her left knee and sinks back into the snow. Their cries of pain go through their bones and the race is interrupted for a few minutes.
Even then, it seems reasonable to assume that Popovic might have been seriously injured, even if she does get up once more. A few days following the race at the World Cup final in Saalbach (Austria), magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the suspicion. As the Croatian Ski Association reports, the technical specialist suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, a strain of the collateral ligament and a bone bruise in her left knee. “After further examinations and in collaboration with the medical team, a decision will be made as to whether the injury can be treated conservatively or whether surgery is required,” the statement continues.
A bitter end to the season for Popovic, which contrasts with the start. In mid-November she missed her first World Cup victory in Levi (Fi) by just 18 hundredths. As in last year’s final in Soldeu (And), she came second in the slalom. These are her only podium finishes in 82 World Cup races so far.
Scary moment in January
The Croatian didn’t just cause a moment of shock in Saalbach this winter. Popovic had a spectacular fall in Kranjska Gora (Slo) at the beginning of January. In the final slalom gates she stumbled and somersaulted across the finish line. It also twisted her knee, but she didn’t hurt herself.
Instead, despite an unplanned finish in the first run, she set the second fastest time – because she passed all the gates correctly. However, she didn’t take home the podium place. In the decision she ran out of strength and ended up eleventh. (bir)
Just saved: Popovic tumbles to the finish in the first run (00:19)
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