Athletes Health

In a letter to the editor, Erik Schlopy, a former ski racer with an impressive track record, shares his insight into the recent success of Stifel U.S. Ski Team members returning from injury.

The FIS Council announced that airbags will become mandatory this season for all athletes competing in Alpine speed events at the World Cup level. Meeting online on Friday, the Council confirmed that the rule will take effect in the 2024/25 season. However, each National Ski Association can grant exceptions if an airbag restricts an athlete’s movement, causing potential safety risks.

Loïc Meillard, who finished second in last season’s overall World Cup standings, faced a tough setback before the season opener in Sölden. As the only male skier besides Marco Odermatt to win a World Cup Giant Slalom last season, Meillard hoped for a strong start.

After the tragic passing of 19-year-old Italian ski talent Matilde Lorenzi, her family remembers her as a young woman full of life, talent, and promise. Her older sister, Lucrezia, shared a touching message about their unique bond, reflecting Matilde’s legacy on and off the slopes. “She was an incredible sister,” Lucrezia told Sky Sport. “I want to remember her as happy and successful on skis.” The sisters, deeply connected by a love of skiing, cherished their time together on the mountains. “Her soul is in mine,” Lucrezia said, “we shared many things and were very close.”

The alpine skiing world was rocked by the devastating news that Italian skier Matilde Lorenzi had died at age 19 after a training accident in northern Italy. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced her death on Tuesday, sharing the skiing community's grief: “The passing of Matilde Lorenzi profoundly saddens us. "

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the Norwegian skiing star, continues his challenging journey to return to the World Cup circuit after a devastating crash at the Lauberhorn in January 2024. His fiancée, fellow superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, has offered emotional support as Kilde recovers from a dislocated shoulder and a severe leg injury. The road back is filled with physical and mental challenges, but Kilde remains determined.

On October 9, Swiss World Cup racer Niels Hintermann announced his cancer diagnosis during a press conference. The 29-year-old downhill and super-G athlete will not compete during the 2024/25 season.

Photo GEPA pictures Marco Schwarz’s Training Camp Setback Everything was almost ready for Marco Schwarz’s

Just as Marco was regaining his strength, he encountered another setback. A slipped disc in his back, which had been causing discomfort, refused to respond to conservative treatments. The situation worsened, leading to the unfortunate decision: surgery.

Petra Vlhová, the remarkable Slovakian Olympic Champion, has been the only athlete to challenge the slalom dominance of the Stifel US Ski Team's superstar Mikaela Shiffrin. Vlhová’s fierce competitiveness and immense skill made her a strong contender for the 2024 season slalom title. However, her season took an unexpected turn when she suffered a devastating injury while racing giant slalom in her home World Cup race in Jasná, Slovakia.

Alexis Pinturault Returns to the Slopes After Knee Injury

Seven months ago, Alexis Pinturault, a top French star in Alpine skiing, faced a significant setback. During the Super-G race in Wengen, he crashed, injuring his left knee. This injury required surgery and forced him to miss the rest of the season. Fans everywhere wondered when he would return to the sport he loves.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, one of the world's most successful speed event skiers, faces another setback in his recovery journey. Despite weeks of antibiotics, Kilde recently shared on Instagram that the infection in his shoulder, sustained after a crash in January during the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, Switzerland, has persisted.

This week, Austrian superstar Marco Schwarz returned to skiing Tuesday at the Norwegian indoor ski hall SNØ, seven months after his December 2023 knee injury.

Despite publicly promising her fans a return to competition, Goggia privately feared her career might be over and even considered retirement.

Notably, five months after the accident, Aamodt Kilde returned to skiing. He recently slipped back into his ski boots and made his first turns at the SNØ indoor ski center in Lørenskog, near Oslo, Norway. Aamodt Kilde expressed his excitement to local media, stating, "It's a great feeling to finally be able to make some turns again."

The Norwegian men’s speed team has captured over a third of the World Cup speed discipline globes in the past 20 years, including Aleksander Aamodt Kilde’s three globes during the past two seasons. However, no Norwegian men started this year in the World Cup Finals’ super-G and downhill events.

This article is my third and final in a series on the role of technology in ski racing (here are #1 and #2). Today, I will focus on one technology that has become ever-present in our sport and is changing how parents (and kids) follow races. I’m talking about Live-Timing, an online real-time platform that tracks race results.

Mikaela Shiffrin is no longer challenging for a women’s record-tying sixth World Cup overall title this month, and on Friday praised standings leader Lara Gut-Behrami for her “stunning” skiing.