Ragnhild Mowinckel, one of Norway’s skiing stars on the downhill slopes, suffered a bad fall during training in Andorra this week. She tore ligaments in her right knee and that put a sudden end to the season.
It was the last thing Mowinckel expected or wanted, after winning two silver medals at last year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea and a bronze at the recent World Championships in Sweden. Now she was keen to do well in the World Cup, at this week’s competition in Soldeu, Andorra.
Her crash on the downhill run ruined everything. The 26-year-old skier had to be carried off the slope on a stretcher and MR pictures were not reassuring.
“She has torn the ligament in her right knee and had to get back to Norway as quickly as possible,” Norwegian ski team chief Tim Gfeller told newspaper Aftenposten. “She’ll have to evaluate the timing for an operation in Oslo.”
He told state broadcaster NRK that Mowinckel’s season was over, but that Mowinckel was as positive as she could be under the circumstances. She didn’t want to comment on her new injury herself, though.
“This is all very new for her, but she’s tackling it well and is ready to ski again as soon as she can,” Gfeller told NRK. “She is very positive.” She won silver medals at last year’s Olympics in both the grand slalom and downhill.
newsinenglish.no staff
