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The descent in Cortina was marked by falls. Mikaela Shiffrin was one of the most prominent victims, but she gave the all-clear in the evening.
After Petra Vlhova, the women’s World Cup is threatened with the next serious failure: Mikaela Shiffrin fell heavily on the first of two downhill runs in the Dolomites.
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 was flown to the hospital by helicopter.
Nothing was initially known about the American woman’s health. The US Ski Association gave the all-clear shortly after the race. According to initial findings, the leader in the overall ranking did not suffer a cruciate ligament injury. Further investigations would follow.
In the evening, Shiffrin also got in touch via Instagram to speak. She was in “quite a bit of pain,” but she was glad it wasn’t a more serious injury. She will not race any more this weekend and will also sit out the giant slalom in Kronplatz on Tuesday. After that, she has to see from day to day what happens next.
4 Swiss women also dropped out
On the unusually undulating “Tofana”, the race ended at the same place for Corinne Suter. The Olympic downhill champion seriously injured her left knee.
Priska Nufer and Federica Brignone (ITA) had previously failed to reach the goal. Later, Michelle Gisin and Stephanie Jenal were also thrown into the nets at the same location.
Lots of failures this season
The current World Cup season is marked by numerous falls and injuries. Shiffrin’s friend Aleksander Kilde (NOR) is also currently out of action due to an accident – he fell heavily on the descent from Wengen shortly before the finish. The season is over for him. The Frenchman Alexis Pinturault and Marco Schwarz (Austria) were also seriously injured during the season.