It seemed inevitable, the terrible diagnosis fell this Friday for the skier Victor Muffat-Jeandet, injured during the World Cup slalom in Zagreb (Croatia) the day before. Examinations taken in France have confirmed that he is indeed suffering from a fractured right ankle and will therefore not be able to participate in the Beijing Olympics. The three strong events of Muffat-Jeandet were to take place on February 10 (combined), 13 (giant) and 16 (slalom).
VMJ fell on Thursday during the Zagreb slalom, a race that was finally stopped following 19 skiers had passed due to the very poor condition of the track, which had already forced the organizers to postpone the event from Wednesday to Thursday. Several skiers showed signs of annoyance or annoyance when crossing the line. “Today you have gone too far @fisalpine (Editor’s note: the International Ski Federation)… I am just annoyed and I have a big thought for my friend Victor Muffat-Jeandet ”, had notably tweeted at the end of the race Alexis Pinturault, title holder of the big crystal globe.
They are many to think that this slalom was a simulacrum of race, a masquerade, and in particular the principal concerned. In a long Instagram post, published this Friday evening, the skier from Val d’Isère poured out all his despondency and his anger: “All that for that… All the work for months and months, the hours on the skis, at the gym. , to work, to sweat, to suffer which suddenly evaporate… What a waste! I did not get on (you never know if I received a new fine of 960 euros as a gift…). It gave way under my support, I was unbalanced and all of my upright ski came to a complete stop suddenly in a strange and uneven snow, I immediately felt a big lever arm, a feeling in my shoe and it broke my fibula. “
Victor Muffat-Jeandet then explains that he will undergo surgery next week by Doctor Sonnery Cottet who already took care of him 10 years ago with a knee injury. He will have to put screws on it and will not go back on skis for several months.
A situation that the French skier cannot digest and he lets it be known: “I have always accepted the risks and injuries inherent in my job and my passion (…) it might have happened anywhere, anytime, be much more serious … But it is sure that getting seriously injured in slalom for the first time in your life in 20 years on a track where the number 19 ends up on the grass necessarily makes you think a little … Very, very few people know and realize all the efforts, investments and rigor that it takes on a daily basis for many years to align at the start. “
In passing, he also scratched the role of the International Ski Federation. “It’s been a while since she really cared and respected athletes, and all the people around them. There is the management of races like this weekend (cancellation then no, then wait, then postponed until tomorrow, then it snows on salty but we are going, then cancellation…) but also many other examples: the calendar. 3, 4 see 5 chained races in the week with sometimes aberrant movements if you do not have a jet or a helicopter, and hours of night driving for the staffs and technicians. “
Victor Muffat-Jeandet, 32, won the combined bronze medal at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He also finished 6th in the giant and the slalom.
