PARIS: Ski legend Marcel Hirscher’s return from retirement has come to an abrupt end after a serious knee injury suffered in training, ruling him out for the rest of the World Cup season. "Marcel Hirscher suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee,” his ski company, Van Deer, said in a statement Tuesday.
"Cruciate ligament gone, project over!” said the 35-year-old Hirscher, who retired in 2019 before announcing a shock return to the sport in October. Hirscher claimed rock-star status in Austria after notching up 67 World Cup wins, two Olympic golds, seven world titles and a record eight consecutive overall World Cup crystal globes (2012-19).
After five years out, he made his comeback in the season opener in Soelden, racing for the Netherlands, the country of his mother. "Of course it’s a tough cut after eight months of a heartfelt project and a huge pity, because the whole team, including me, we all had other plans for this winter,” said Hirscher.
"It will certainly be hard to watch the races... As is unfortunately the case with skiing: (that is) part of the game.” "Maybe I’m finally done with my journey,” he added, suggesting that last month’s slalom in Gurgl may have been his final race.
Hirscher finished 23rd in the giant slalom in Soelden, but then failed to qualify for the second runs in either of the two subsequent slaloms.
Mikaela Shiffrin will be sidelined for at least a few weeks after she suffered a puncture wound in her abdomen and severe muscle trauma during a giant slalom race in Killington, Vermont, the twice Olympic gold medallist said on Monday.
Shiffrin was chasing a milestone 100th World Cup win on Saturday when she caught an edge and crashed into the safety netting at full speed, remaining down for several minutes before being taken to a medical clinic.
Shiffrin thanked her fans for their support on social media on Monday and said it would take "a few weeks minimum” to be able to "take on much of any force.” "I literally have a puncture wound and some pretty significant muscular trauma around my whole right oblique area,” said Shiffrin. "We’re starting the process to be on the mend and I hope to get back to being able to ski soon-ish.”
Shiffrin previously missed six weeks after injuring her knee in a high-speed crash in January while competing in a World Cup downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo and subsequently dropped the discipline from her schedule.
Shiffrin is already considered the most successful Alpine skier in World Cup history when she topped retired Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s record 86 wins in March. — Agencies