Industry News
Czech alpine skier Tereza Nová is continuing her long road to recovery after suffering a catastrophic crash on January 24 during race training on the Kandahar slope in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The 27-year-old sustained life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to the BG Unfallklinik in Murnau, Germany, where she spent nearly a month after being put in an induced coma. She was subsequently transferred back to Czechia to the Motol University Hospital. She will be transferred to the rehabilitation center in Kladbruby some time in May.
Doctors diagnosed Nová with a severe traumatic brain injury, major cerebral hemorrhage, injury to the carotid artery, and a fracture near the eye socket. Due to rapid brain swelling, neurosurgeons were forced to remove a section of her skull to relieve intracranial pressure. “What happens during a severe traumatic brain injury? The brain is forcefully pushed against the skull on impact. The greatest challenge afterwards is to control the swelling of the brain, which has almost no room to expand within the rigid bony skull. We had to remove a section of the skull to prevent the brain from being crushed,” Dr. Michael Bierschneider of the neurosurgery team explained.
For a week, Nová remained in a medically induced coma as doctors worked to stabilize her condition. Once the swelling began to subside, she was slowly awakened. “Only after the swelling of the brain had subsided and the patient was stable enough, we slowly woke her up again—after consultation with the treating colleagues of neurosurgery,” intensive care physician Markus Gruber said. Remarkably, despite initial fears about the severity of her brain injury, Nová became responsive. Her early rehabilitation began at the intensive care unit in Murnau, including basic mobilization.
Her partner, Czech ski racer Ondřej Berndt, and her parents remained by her side throughout. “It was great luck that everyone acted so quickly and she was flown here. Thank you for saving Tereza’s life,” said Berndt.
Now back in Czechia, Nová continues her recovery with intensive neurorehabilitation at the Motol University Hospital and is expected to be transferred to a specialized rehab center in Kladruby this month. Due to a brain hemorrhage, the 27-year-old skier is still paralyzed on the left side of her body. She spends several hours a day rehabilitating, while still having to shield her head with a protective helmet, while awaiting surgery to replace the cranial implant. Despite this, her progress has been extraordinary. “From a girl who couldn’t speak or move, to someone who’s now messaging us on WhatsApp and going out for coffee in a wheelchair—it’s a huge step forward,” her father, Josef Nový, said in an interview with a Czech TV station.
Nová has expressed her determination to walk—and one day ski—again. “I’m working hard so I can walk again—and eventually ski,” she told Czech media in her television interview.
Her story has drawn admiration and support from across the skiing world, but has also served as a reminder that more needs to be done to ensure the safety of Alpine athletes. The last couple of seasons have seen several career ending injuries, particularly in the speed disciplines Super-G and Downhill. French skier Cyprien Sarrazin nearly lost his life after a violent crash during World Cup Downhill training in Bormio, Italy, on December 27 that left him with a subdural hematoma and a severe concussion, requiring emergency brain surgery. Even more tragically, two Italian youth athletes lost their lives during training for speed events. Marco Degli Uomini and Matilde Lorenzi died during training in the 2024-25 season. Their deaths have prompted urgent calls for reform, with Lorenzi’s family and the #matildina4safety foundation demanding stronger protections for young racers. As the season draws to a close, the downhill community faces renewed pressure to confront the risks embedded in the sport’s most dangerous discipline.
While FIS has taken major steps to improve safety in Alpine Skiing, the evolution of equipment, course preparation, and athlete conditioning has inadvertently increased speeds and risks. Over recent decades, the shift toward machine-based slope grooming and widespread use of water injection has created harder, icier race surfaces. While these measures ensure fairness and consistency across competitors, they also produce more physically demanding and faster tracks. At the same time, ski technology has evolved with more aggressive, heavier gear designed to maximize performance on these firmer surfaces, further amplifying speed and impact forces during crashes.
As skiers have grown stronger and more technically advanced, the sport has entered a feedback loop: faster athletes require tougher equipment and courses, which then raise the stakes in terms of injury risk. Safety measures like mandatory helmets, airbags, and improved course installations aim to counter these developments, but FIS officials acknowledge that as long as risk remains a core part of the sport, it cannot be made entirely safe. One future development FIS is hoping will increase ski racer’s safety is the development of smart bindings. “The goal is to develop bindings that use algorithms—similar to airbag technology—to detect when a racer is in a critical situation. These bindings would release before the athlete fully loses control, preventing them from sliding down the slope with skis still attached, which can lead to severe injuries,” Markus Waldner, FIS Chief Race Director explained.
In the meantime, we wish Tereza Nová all the best for her continued recovery, and hope for a safer, less injury-riddled 2025-26 season.
