McKennis Duran out with ankle injury

By Published On: December 23rd, 2020Comments Off on McKennis Duran out with ankle injury

In a crash in Friday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill at Val d’Isere, France, two-time Olympian Alice McKennis Duran sustained a fractured right ankle, requiring surgical intervention, and will be out for 8-10 weeks. 

After skiing two strong downhill training runs (first and 11th), Alice was feeling good and strong heading into the weekend. It was a tough day for many of the top speed skiers, with crashes by Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer, Italy’s Federica Brignone, and others. Unfortunately, Alice was among them. There are many things Alice would like to say, including some four-letter words, but we’ll just leave it at the fact that 2020 has been a challenging year. 

In an Instagram post on Wednesday morning, Alice wrote, 

It’s crushing mentally and emotionally to be back in this place…to feel yet again that I was in the verge of doing great things, and to have it all slip through my fingers once again. It’s hard to make sense of it all. All the hard work and perseverance to be rendered almost meaningless in a flash. I’ve had surgery 9/12 years in my career on the World Cup and it’s my 5th season ending injury, both staggering numbers that make me cringe and feel so much anger and frustration. Why…?
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I could go on at length about feeling sorry my self but that gets me nowhere-it could have been much,much worse. I am lucky to only have only sustained the injuries I did and I am grateful for that. I was able to ski down (although not all that well????????), something others were unable to do. There are many people out there that have overcome worse things in all walks of life, and continue to thrive. They are my inspiration! I believe I will have the opportunity to thrive again it will just take some time.
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Thank you everyone who has showed me so much support and love, and to those who keep lifting me up when I fall (literally). Perspective is everything and these people are what makes it all feel bearable. Onwards. ❤️ #bettereveryday

Alice is no stranger to comebacks. Her latest injury sustained just after her climb back to the podium in Are, Sweden in 2018, had her sidelined for the 2018-19 season. During the 2017-18 season, the U.S. women’s downhill team was the most successful downhill team on th circuit. Alice returned to competition for the 2019-20 season with a goal to “…enjoy the process of getting better at ski racing, continue working hard, and give my best effort everyday!” She was steadily building towards 2020-21, and had been skiing strong in prep period camps.

Following the crash, Alice traveled back to the States and was evaluated by doctors in Vail, Colo. She underwent ankle surgery on Wednesday morning, which was successful, and now she is on the road to recovery.  

Release courtesy of U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

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