Next serious skiing accident
Rescue helicopter transports Olympic champion
Once again, a top star of the skiing scene has been knocked off her skis. In the morning, the Italian Goggia was taken to hospital by helicopter after a serious fall. The diagnosis was shocking. The Olympic champion is the next victim of a truly plagued season.
The seemingly endless list of serious injuries in the alpine skiing circus is not ending. Even the Italian Olympic champion Sofia Goggia will probably have to end her season early. The 31-year-old Italian was taken to hospital in Milan after a serious training fall with suspected fractures of her tibia and fibula. During the course of the day, the Italian Ski Federation Fisi confirmed the worst fears: the 31-year-old broke her tibia and shinbone in the accident on a slope in Ponte di Legno in the north of the country, they said. Goggia had to undergo surgery in a hospital in Milan that afternoon. She hit a gate with her right leg during a right-hand bend.
The accident occurred in the morning on the Casola Nera slope in Ponte di Legno in the province of Brescia, where Goggia has often prepared for races. The Speed ​​Queen was then transported away by rescue helicopter. The four-time winner of the Downhill World Cup is leading the overall ranking in the queen discipline again this winter. She won one of the five races so far and has been on the podium three more times. The next downhill races are planned for February 16/17 in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
Kilde blames stress for injuries
Goggia's expected absence would be the next in a truly plague season for skiing. Ski queen Mikaela Shiffrin is currently taking a break after a serious fall in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The seasons of Olympic champions Petra Vlhova and Corinne Suter ended prematurely after cruciate ligament tears.
The men also have to complain about some prominent injuries. Shiffrin's boyfriend, the former overall World Cup winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, had to end his season with serious injuries, as did the highly decorated Alexis Pinturault and Marco Schwarz.
Last week, Kilde blamed the accumulation of events around the races for the large number of injuries. “It's not sustainable, we have evening commitments everywhere. That means stress for the athletes, especially for the top ten,” he said. “We have to look at the race calendar and we athletes have to be heard. You don't want to lose anyone because of injuries.”
