Ski Racing Star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde’s Horrific Crash and Road to Recovery

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Aleksander Aamodt Kilde crashed hard in the Wengen Lauberhorn downhill on January 13. Now, the ski racing star opens up about the severe implications of his injuries. His current primary goal is to be able to walk again and live a normal life.

Everyone who watched this race will remember: After Aamodt Kilde’s forceful crash into the safety nets right before the finish line, the powerful downhiller seemed to lay still for an eternity. The last curve in the demanding course has a history of drama, falls, and sometimes tragic accidents, leading to improved safety installations there. Once again, this crash left spectators speechless and fearful of the outcome.

Inaccurate relief

Many were relieved after the initial injury reports for Aamodt Kilde. His leg was not broken, as first reported by some, and his knees were intact. Things seemed relatively okay, many believed, considering the massive impact. A cut in his leg and a dislocated shoulder couldn’t be too bad, right?

However, there was a deep cut into his calf, causing significant blood loss and nerve damage, requiring immediate surgery. A dislocated shoulder had to be reset. Torn shoulder ligaments required surgery after a few days, and the surgeons discovered and repaired damaged nerves in the shoulder simultaneously. Additionally, he experienced headaches, a beat-up body, and abrasions to his face.

Sharing the seriousness

After the injuries were described as a leg cut and a dislocated shoulder, Aamodt Kilde received cheerful messages like, “We’ll see you back on snow soon” while he was going through a challenging time and a lot of pain.

His initial posts on social media were brief, followed by more in-depth personal information and photos. Finally, he shared dramatic images showing the damaged leg before surgery. These photos were not for the faint of heart!

During a recent interview with the broadcaster Viaplay Norge, aired on February 4, Aamodt Kilde explains that it was challenging to receive friendly messages from people thinking they would see him on snow soon when he was laying in the hospital bed thinking, “I hope I can ski again.”

He wanted to give honest feedback about the situation by posting dramatic photos on social media. “And it was a bit of an eye-opener for most, that this is not a walk in the park,” Aamodt Kilde explains during the Viaplay Norge interview.

The lowest of lows

The Norwegian racer, known to be physically and mentally strong, has described the first period after the leg surgery as “the lowest of lows.” There has been extreme pain in his shoulder and leg, and he has had to lay still on his back without being able to move very much. Aamodt Kilde says he has experienced a lot of nerve pain, which has been challenging to control with medication.

“With 100 kg (body weight) and a lot of muscles, the doses are maybe a bit uncommon for the people working with this,” Aamodt Kilde explains to Viaplay Norge. “Now we are in a nice, little phase where there is less pain in general and fewer pills and all that.”

During the short Viaplay Norge feature, seeing the giant in a wheelchair certainly made an impression, wearing braces on his right leg and left arm. Aamodt Kilde says with a tinge of humor: “So, we’re doing a high-risk sport, but I hadn’t imagined sitting in a wheelchair!”

Mental and physical training

In the recent American Downhiller Podcast, Aamodt Kilde shares that he now goes through therapy, both for his mental health and physical health. Asked what he does for his mental health, he explains:

“It was a high-impact crash, so, for me, that was a first. (I’ve) never experienced that before. So, just trying to cope with that, to begin with, talking to the right people. I’ve seen the crash plenty of times to just process it and try to understand what happened. What can I do to avoid it in the future? And also, just trying to see where I am and what the future will bring. Right now, it’s such an early stage, so it’s hard to do much. Just talk to people about it and stay on top of it. I think that’s really important.”

Luckily, there is progress. Wednesday this week, Aamodt Kilde posted a film clip on Instagram showing him walking slowly on an anti-gravity treadmill. He has also started light rehab exercises in the weight room at the Basefive training and rehabilitation center in Innsbruck, Austria.

Uncertainty

It is too early to know what the future holds. Aamodt Kilde believes his left shoulder will heal okay.  The injuries in his right leg, where the severe cut caused nerve damage, are more problematic and leave him with an uncertain prognosis. His expression and voice seemed to reflect this uncertainty as he speaks to Viaplay Norge about his status:

“I don’t quite have contact with my toes, and now I have zero sensation in my leg. I can lift my foot, so that is good. But it is difficult for me to know how I should manage to build up my body again if not everything functions quite right. I know what this sport demands and that you must be 100% fit like I was before the injury. And there’s still a little way to go to get back to that,” he adds with an understatement.

Aamodt Kilde wants to be realistic, think about getting back on his feet and “manage to carry out a job that enables me to live a good life. That is priority one. And then there is always a goal to get back to the job I would like to do.” He smiles slightly, before he continues: “But it is easier for my head to think that now I am just getting up on my feet and getting things to work like they should once again,” he says during the Viaplay Norge interview.

American Downhiller Podcast

Asked during the American Downhiller Podcast about what he can bring into the current situation from previous injury experiences, Aamodt Kilde mentions his previous ACL injury, which he describes as “sort of a ‘normal’ injury for alpine skiers. I learned a lot from that process.”

However, he describes in the podcast that the situations are not quite the same: “This is a more serious (injury): a longer path and a little bit of an insecure path. I don’t know where it’s going to take me, but a positive mind is always the most important thing. Deal with things you can do something about and leave everything else behind. That’s what I have experienced as being a good thing.”

Cheerful with Mikaela

During the recent Viaplay Norge television interview showing Aamodt Kilde’s current rehabilitation situation in Innsbruck, Austria, he is accompanied by his girlfriend, Mikaela Shiffrin. Shiffrin is among the many racers injured during the late January women’s World Cup speed weekend in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

While it is nice to have Shiffrin around and spend some time together in the evenings after demanding rehabilitation days, Aamodt Kilde admits that it is not ideal that they are in the same place doing rehabilitation training in the middle of the World Cup season. “It suggests that we both did something we shouldn’t have done,” he says with a smirk.

Shiffrin and Aamodt Kilde share some cheerful moments during their tight schedules when time allows. Aamodt Kilde is finally feeling a bit better after the initial tough days and weeks:

“I have gotten up from the ditch. There is maybe a bit left before I’m on top of the mountain, but I am at a level where I should be, and I can smile and laugh and have a nice time with the people around me. I’m not such a pain for the others anymore,” he laughs during the Viaplay Norge interview.

Finding the joy of skiing?

While he has found some joy again in his new rehabilitation situation, Aamodt Kilde honestly discusses during the Viaplay Norge interview how he lacked the joy of skiing before getting injured.

“For me, it was obvious that there was a bit less motivation this year. It was a very different season; there were a lot of postponements and cancellations,” he says. “It has been very different, which maybe resulted in less joy and motivation.”

The experienced speed racer points out how a lack of motivation and not feeling happy about skiing might affect how focused and “tuned in” a racer manages to stay. “And that can be dangerous in this sport; we see that,” he says, in the Viaplay Norge interview.

Aamodt Kilde’s dramatic fall in Wengen, paired with an uncommonly high number of skiers experiencing difficulties and injuries on the Lauberhorn course as well as earlier this season, has led to discussions about the tight race program, especially for the speed skiers and all-rounders.

When asked by Viaplay Norge’s reporter, Tommy Barstein, about when he will return on skis, Aamodt Kilde replies:

“Skiing is out until the day I feel that it is okay. And I do not know yet when that day will be.”

Sources: Viaplay Norge, the American Downhiller Podcast, Instagram