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Olympics
Less than two weeks before the start of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Utah alpine skier Steven Nyman received news that he didn’t want to hear; that an injury will keep him from his fourth straight Olympic Games appearance, reports sltribe.com.
U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced yesterday that the 35-year-old from Provo, who grew up skiing on the runs at Sundance Resort, UT suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during a training run last Thursday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
Nyman suffered the injury on nearly the exact same date and on the exact same course as last year’s season-ending knee injury in Garmisch that resulted in a torn ACL, MCL and PCL tear in his left knee. After extensive rehab and putting himself on track to return to the World Cup circuit in December, Nyman eventually had his best finish of the year in Kitzbuehel, Austria, in January — a 15th in the men’s downhill that helped him secure a spot on Team USA.
“I was really looking forward to not only representing our country at my fourth Olympics but trying to contend for a medal,” Nyman said in a release. “Unfortunately, a year to the day from my left knee injury, I’ve learned that I’ve completely torn the ACL on my other [right] knee. The good news is that this injury is much more straightforward than last year and will be much easier to come back from.”
Nyman officially was named to the U.S. Olympic alpine team Jan. 24. The Utah product has 11 career World Cup podiums and recently finished third overall at the Olympic test event in Jeongseon, South Korea.
“This injury is a huge loss to the ski racing community of America and the U.S. ski team,” U.S. alpine coach Sasha Rearick said. “He’s the leader of our family. He’s been the leader of the downhillers for a long time. I think we take a lot of pride in all of the work he has done, and the leadership he has shown to the team about how to work hard and take it step by step over a 12-month period and actually be in a place where he was ready to compete at the elite level.”
