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Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was injured in a horrific crash on Saturday, January 13, 2024. The Norwegian racing legend was competing in the Downhill race of the FIS Alpine World Cup at Wengen, Switzerland, when he lost control on the bottom section of the course and crashed at full speed into the B-nets. The Norwegian athlete appeared severely injured and did not move and had to be airlifted to a hospital in Bern, Switzerland.
The famous Lauberhorn race course is the longest and oldest Downhill race course in the world and is also considered one of the most dangerous ones. In 1991, Austrian Gernot Reinstadler crashed and died during the Downhill race on the Lauberhorn race course. It is not the first injury during this weekend at the Lauberhorn, France’s Alexis Pinturault suffered ACL and MCL ruptures, ending his season early, as did Switzerland’s Marco Kohler.
Kilde was the Downhill winner at the Lauberhorn in 2022 and 2023 and was ready to defend his title despite a cold that was plaguing him. Maybe the weakened condition contributed to the 32-year-old’s crash but at this point, this is all speculation. Kilde had started the race well but was 1.67 behind Marco Odermatt. It was the final descent into the finish line when the 21-time World Cup winner lost control and crashed unobstructed into the nets. The Norwegian skidded down from the nets and then did not move. Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, who won the famous Downhill race on Saturday, was flinching in the finish area and turned around so as not to see the giant screen showing his opponent’s fate.
The race was interrupted and Kilde airlifted by helicopter as he could not get up. There was blood on the course and blood could be seen on his face and leg. There were rumors of an open fracture, a femur fracture, or a lower leg fracture, but today, Sunday, January 14, 2024, the Norwegian Ski Association confirmed that the ski racer had merely dislocated a shoulder and cut his leg. Kilde later posted on social media from the hospital, where his partner Mikaela Shiffrin had rushed to his side to support her boyfriend. Shiffrin, who also suffers from a cold—potentially the same one since they had spent some time together during the holidays—had decided to not participate in the races in Austria this weekend due to her weakened state.
The accident has raised a lot of debate about the pressure being put on athletes to compete at any cost, especially since many races had been canceled earlier in the season and four races were scheduled for Wengen, Switzerland. Critics, including current athletes like Marco Odermatt or Cyprien Sarazzin, as well as retired athletes like Felix Neureuther, argue that the tight schedule after the earlier cancellations had forced Kilde to participate despite being under the weather in fear of missing out on valuable FIS points.
- Related: All 3 Men’s Speed Races Canceled at the FIS World Cup at Beaver Creek, CO, Due to Snowfall
