Swedish slalom skier says ‘goodbye’ to World Cup

By Published On: April 6th, 2017Comments Off on Swedish slalom skier says ‘goodbye’ to World Cup

Swedish athlete Jens Byggmark has decided to end his World Cup skiing career due to pain in his knee that prevents him from performing at a competitive level.

“The reason behind my decision to retire from my alpine career is that I feel that my knee can not perform on the extremely high level that the World Cup requires,” Byggmark said. “I know I belong in the top and without a good knee, I will not make it back there and that is why it is better to retire.”

Back in 2013, the slalom specialist tore his ACL, which forced him to sit out the 2013-14 season. This injury was followed by a long struggle to come back to the top. After a string of DNFs between Val d’Isere and Adelboden during the 2016-17 season, Byggmark decided to take time off from racing in order to rehab his knee and deal with the significant pain in hopes of being stronger for the coming season. However, time has shown that he will not be able to return to his full strength.

Byggmark’s career was marked by 127 World Cup starts and eight World Cup podiums, earned between 2007 and 2014. He had two of his most impressive performances in 2007 in Kitzbuehel, where he was unbeatable on two consecutive days on the legendary slope. In that season, he finished in the third place in the slalom standings behind the legends Benjamin Raich and Mario Matt. Another highlight of his successful career was his second place at the World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2011. He also earned a silver medal in the team event at home in Are, Sweden, in 2007.

Releases from the Swedish Ski Association and FIS

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About the Author: SR Staff Report