Update
Rescued by helicopter
Ski superstar Shiffrin falls heavily on the descent
January 26, 2024, 12:24 p.m
Her partner was seriously injured two weeks ago, and now Mikaela Shiffrin also crashes into the safety fence on the descent. The ski queen has to be rescued by helicopter. Other female racers will also be affected at the race in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Now Mikaela Shiffrin has also been hit: The ski queen is the next prominent fall victim in the World Cup. The 28-year-old American fell during the descent in Cortina d’Ampezzo and probably injured her left knee. She had to be rescued by helicopter.
Shiffrin was pushed backwards during a jump, fell shortly after landing and crashed into the safety fence. She remained on the slope for about five minutes and received first aid. After standing up, she used her ski poles like crutches to take weight off her obviously injured left leg. She couldn’t perform.
When racing resumed, more accidents occurred – at the same location. The Swiss downhill Olympic champion Corinne Suter came down hard in front of a left-hand bend after the jump, screamed in pain and grabbed her left knee. The Swiss Priska Nufer and combined world champion Federica Brignone from Italy also took off on the unusually undulating “Tofana”. Germany’s best downhill skier, Kira Weidle, had big problems.
“When you get there, you’re going at around 120 km/h. You only see the horizon from behind, you actually have to turn your skis to the left. Then you also jump, that’s the difficulty,” said the Austrian Cornelia Hütter on ORF .
Shiffrin was hit hard by his friend’s fall
Shiffrin’s friend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, like her big slalom rival Petra Vlhova from Slovakia, is out for the rest of the season after a racing accident. The Frenchman Alexis Pinturault and Marco Schwarz from Austria were also seriously injured.
Kilde had to undergo multiple operations after his serious accident on the descent from Wengen. The Norwegian raced into the safety fence at high speed on the Lauberhorn descent in mid-January. “If you look at the force of the crash and the fact that I hit the net at 120 kilometers per hour, I’m surprisingly fine,” wrote the 31-year-old. “I’m grateful that nothing is broken,” he adds. “But I suffered several injuries, including a fairly serious flesh wound in the calf with damaged nerves that required urgent surgery, as well as a dislocated shoulder.”
Shiffrin was badly affected by her partner’s accident. The 28-year-old traveled to Kilde’s hospital as quickly as possible and skipped the race in Zauchensee. After her victory in the subsequent night slalom in Flachau, she burst into tears and spoke of “challenging” days. Now she may have to share a hospital with Kilde from now on.