Last season, several ski stars suffered serious injuries, including Petra Vlhova. The Slovakian has had a difficult few months. And even though the pain is gone, the season opener in Sölden is too early for her.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Petra Vlhova tears her cruciate ligament in January and has to end the season early.
- The Slovakian is now pain-free again, but will not be at the start of the season in Sölden. She is not yet at one hundred percent.
- During a media round, she also talks about the difficult last few months.
In January, the ski team stopped off in Jasna for the first time in almost three years. Thousands of fans on the side of the piste kept their fingers crossed for Petra Vlhova, they wanted to see their idol win. But everything turned out very differently.
After a few gates, Vlhova slipped on the inside ski and landed in the safety net. The now 29-year-old was finally taken away on a rescue sled and transferred to the nearest hospital for examinations. Hours later comes the devastating diagnosis: Vlhova has torn both her right cruciate ligament and her medial collateral ligament. The season is over for her.
Vlhova is now pain-free again
How is her health nine months later? During a media round, the Slovakian answers the relevant questions and provides an insight into the difficult last few months.
The good news first: Vlhova says that she now has "no more pain or problems". Nevertheless, the 2020/21 overall World Cup winner will be missing the season opener next weekend in Sölden. "I won't be competing just to ski down the mountain. I want to return at full strength," says Vlhova.
And so she has a tough training program ahead of her. In addition to 20 ski training sessions, 21 fitness sessions are to be interspersed, alternating with regular breaks. Her team manager Richard Galovic assumes that Vlhova will be ready to attack again afterwards. Two giant slaloms are scheduled in Tremblant at the beginning of December, with the races in Semmering taking place between Christmas and New Year.
Difficult last few months
During the press conference, Vlhova also looked back on her difficult last few months. "It felt like I was starting all over again every day because my knee got stiffer overnight and I had to loosen it up again." That was "very exhausting". However, she has learned to listen to her body better. "I have to accept when my knee says no. It dictates my schedule and my training," says the slalom and giant slalom specialist.
However, she is "sad" that she will miss the start of the season because she really wants to race again. But she accepts that it is still too early. "We go step by step," says Vlhova.
