[VIDEO] Mikaela Shiffrin Injured After Crashing at Downhill World Cup in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

Mikaela Shiffrin was competing at the Downhill World Cup in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, today, Friday, January 26, when the American skier slid out and crashed at the top of the Downhill course.

“Mikaela Shiffrin was taken by ambulance to the clinic in Cortina and is being evaluated for a left leg injury. Initial analysis shows the ACL and PCL seem intact. Further details to come.”

– U.S. Ski Team Statement

The American slid out in a sharp left turn on the Olympia delle Tofane course, flying at full speed into the nets. The 28-year-old American did not move for a while, and the race was interrupted while the emergency crew rushed to her side.

After several minutes, Shiffrin got up with the help of some of the ski patrollers and team members attending to her. She hobbled off the course using her ski poles as crutches and was subsequently flown to the nearest hospital, where her injuries would be evaluated.

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Shiffrin had just come off a small jump right before the big Tofanaschuss but did not manage to make the subsequent sharp left turn. She was not the only skier to have crashed at this spot, with Italy’s Federica Brignone sliding out on the same corner just two skiers later. Likewise, Michelle Gisin slid out in the same spot while her Swiss teammate Corinne Suter seemingly injured her knee on the jump before the corner.

Retired German ski racer and TV commentator Viktoria Rebensburg analyzed the crash on Eurosport: “She jumped very far and tried to get into the goal. Her knee twisted quite a bit. The binding of the ski, which went straight into the A-nets, did not open up.”

Just yesterday, Thursday, January 25, the U.S. ski racer posted an ominous post on Twitter (X) about her struggling to be racing on Downhill skis again. The multi-discipline skier skipped speed races early in January when she suffered from a cold, meaning her last Downhill race had been at St. Moritz in mid-December.

Shiffrin shared on social media that while there seems to be no tear to any ligament at this stage, she will not be competing for the rest of the weekend as well as skipping the Kronplatz Slalom on January 30, 2024.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2kzLiDIHV1/?igsh=MThsZm1pZ2J1bzhmcA==

We will update our SnowBrains readers as details of Shiffrin’s injuries emerge. 

This post was updated at 6:05 am PST, 1/26/24, to add a quote from the US Ski Team about the extent of her injuries.

This post was updated at 13:35 am PST, 1/26/24, to add a quote from Mikaela Shiffrin.

So happy to be back in @cortinaSkiWcup because I love it here…although yesterday was a little bit of a shock to the system being back on DH skis, and I had a couple “scary” moments on the course (probably didn’t look as scary…(cont.) pic.twitter.com/02Pnr7VQc8

— Mikaela Shiffrin (@MikaelaShiffrin) January 25, 2024