Recounting her devastating World Cup fall, two-time Olympic gold champion Mikaela Shiffrin called one of her injuries Sunday a “stab wound.”
After suffering a puncture wound to her right abdomen, seven-time world champion Shiffrin was released from a hospital and was recuperating, according to a statement provided by the U.S. Ski Team on Sunday.
The group, which manages the U.S. Olympic ski team, said the Saturday fall at the 2024 Stifel Killington Cup in Vermont caused “severe muscle trauma.”
When a ski caught an edge during a giant slalom run, 29-year-old Shiffrin was aiming for her 100th World Cup victory when she fell into two gates and then into a rail.
Shiffrin discussed the effects of the collision, which prevented her from attending the Killington race, while seeing a tape that was presented on the broadcast during her appearance on NBC Sports and NBC Olympics on Sunday.
“Oh. My own. “Goodness,” she said from a distance in Vermont. “You guys have a great angle. This is really beautiful.
She claimed that the collision caused her to tumble several times but bounce off the fence before coming to a stop when the competition stopped and help arrived.
Regarding her state of mind prior to the collision, Shiffrin stated, “I was purposely trying to run the most aggressive line I could.”
It was discovered that she had a puncture hole in an oblique muscle, which is a pair of muscles in the lower, front torso, after she was taken away and sent to a hospital, according to Shiffrin.
She stated, “I have a stab wound, basically,”
“What caused the injury is unclear,” she stated.
Shiffrin remarked, “We’re just not totally sure how I got punctured,”
The Colorado resident claimed to have viewed the crash’s video for the first time. She remarked, “All things considered, quite lucky,”
In a video released to TikTok on Saturday, she nonchalantly addressed her followers from her hospital bed, saying, “Not really too much cause for concern at this point.”
In a message posted on Instagram on Sunday and credited to “Team Shiffrin,” the U.S. Ski Team claimed that although the skier is unable to “walk well,” they are thankful that no organ, bone, or ligament damage was discovered.
“Her priority is healing,” the statement read.
The giant slalom in Killington was won by Camille Rast of Switzerland. It is improbable that Shiffrin will compete at the World Cup race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, this month.
“I’m pretty limited in doing anything right now,” Shiffrin stated on NBC Olympics and NBC Sports. “But we ll see how it goes the next couple days.”
Previous strained-muscle injuries have required roughly two weeks of recuperation, she added. She claimed that the torn muscle involved in this injury is more serious and takes longer to heal.
According to a statement from Killington Resort that summarized the competition, “Shiffrin was cleared of major injury.” It also mentioned that she has not yet been given a schedule to return to the sport.
On November 23, Shiffrin won her 99th World Cup competition in Gurgl, Austria.
She became “the most successful female alpine skier in World Cup history” in 2023 after matching and surpassing fellow American Lindsey Vonn’s record of 83 World Cup victories.
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