European Report: Eberharter might not race; another knee operation for Janica

European Report: Eberharter might not race; another knee operation for Janica{mosimage}Austria’s Stephan Eberharter might not be able to race this weekend in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, after the defending World Cup champion tweaked his back in training this week.

Eberharter, sitting fourth overall, 93 points behind leader and teammate Hermann Maier, was forced to cut short giant slalom training Thursday on the Reiteralm. If he’s forced to pass up the GS Saturday in Kranjska Gora, he risks missing out on important points in the fight for the overall.

The men also race a slalom on Sunday, but Eberharter typically doesn’t compete in slalom unless there are combined points on the table.

Eberharter has insisted since the beginning of the season he’s only interested in winning the downhill title. He has a comfortable lead in the downhill points race with just two races remaining.

>> Kostelic down for two more months

Janica Kostelic underwent surgery on her right knee this week in Schruns, Austria, the fifth operation on that knee in less than a year. She’ll be sidelined for at least two months, according to a report in the EFE wire service.

Dr. Christian Schenk performed the operation to repair cartilage damage most likely caused by injuries at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, in December. Kostelic is expected to stay in the clinic for about a week and will undergo rehab treatments with Dr. Rolf Hochmeister.

According to a release from the Croatian team, Dr. Schenk said the damage was less than expected and the Olympic champion should be able to return to skiing in two months. Kostelic has missed the entire 2003-04 season and underwent surgery last month to repair her thyroid gland.

>> ‘No comment’ on Muehlegg return

While the Spanish skiing federation seems willing to forgive and forget when it comes to the controversial return of German national Johann Muehlegg, skiers on the team aren’t so enthusiastic.

According to a report in the Spanish daily MARCA, skiers returning from competitions in Norway refused to comment on the imminent return of Muehlegg, who finished serving a two-year racing ban this week after failing doping tests in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

MARCA reported that skiers were angered that Muehlegg, nicknamed “Juanito,” never trained or worked with the Spanish team before the Winter Games and felt betrayed that the carpet-bagger later failed doping tests and thus sullied the reputation of Spanish skiing.

>> Ski jumping takes off in Norway

Cross-country skiing might not be enjoying its best moments in Norway, but ski jumping is seeing renewed interest thanks to recent successes by Norwegian fliers.

Young skiers are streaming to local ski jumps after their grown-up idols nabbed another batch of World Cup gold medals last weekend, the Norwegian daily Aftenposten reported.

“We’re getting reports that our training courses are fully booked,” says Jan-Erik Aalbu of the Norwegian Ski Association. “Recruiting is going very well right now. We can’t just focus on the Olympics in 2006.”

According to the story, in early January there were 5,116 boys and 1,318 girls registered in local ski jumping organizations and courses. The number of girls is increasing the fastest, jumping 47 percent last year alone.

“We’ve actually had to stop taking in more members,” says Erling Johanssen of the Baekkelaget Ski Club, adding that they don’t have enough used equipment to go around.

Ski Association officials, meanwhile, are hoping for a big turnout at next month’s annual Holmenkollen Ski Festival. The event will also feature a beer tent for the first time, so fans will be able to properly (and legally) raise a “skaal” for their ski jumping heroes.