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After a hard fall: Helicopter flies ski star Mikaela Shiffrin to the hospital

Photo: Alessandro Trovati / AP

The next serious fall occurred in alpine skiing. US superstar Mikaela Shiffrin lost her balance in a wave after the "Tofana shot" during the descent in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, fell and landed in the net. After minutes of treatment, she was initially able to stand again, but was unable to step with her left leg. She was then taken to the hospital by helicopter.

A diagnosis is still pending and the US Ski Association did not initially comment. Shiffrin's spokeswoman Megan Harrod also had no further information.

When the race resumed, there were more accidents - at the same place. The Swiss downhill Olympic champion Corinne Suter came down hard in front of a left-hand bend after the jump, screamed in pain and grabbed her left knee. The Swiss Priska Nufer and combined world champion Federica Brignone (Italy) also flew out, Kira Weidle had big problems.

The route is a little different than in previous years, Weidle told ZDF. Even the smallest inaccuracies could lead to major problems. “You almost have to be happy when you’re down safely,” she said, referring to the falls.

More and more stars are dropping out

Just two weeks ago, Shiffrin's friend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde fell. Like Shiffrin's big slalom rival Petra Vlhova, he is out for the rest of the season. In recent weeks, Alexis Pinturault, Christofer Innerhofer and Marco Schwarz also had serious crashes at the races in Wengen and Bormio and suffered injuries that ended their seasons.

In the wake of the series of injuries, the World Ski Federation FIS came under criticism because of the packed racing calendar, which hardly allows athletes any rest periods.

That's why Shiffrin keeps stopping so that the strain doesn't get too high. She has already won the overall World Cup five times in her career and is confidently leading the rankings again this winter. The 28-year-old already has seven wins this season. Her greatest strengths lie in the technical disciplines, but she also won the downhill in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in December.

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