Ski great Marcel Hirscher’s comeback season ended by serious knee injury

By The Associated Press on December 3, 2024.

Netherland's Marcel Hirscher starts an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

SALZBURG, Austria (AP) – Ski great Marcel Hirscher’s comeback season after five years away from the sport is over when it had barely begun.

The Austrian star tore the ACL in his left knee “during a harmless slip” while training in giant slalom, he posted on his official website on Tuesday.

“As is unfortunately the case with skiing: part of the game. Maybe I’m finally done with my journey,” said the 35-year-old Hirscher, who had surgery on Monday evening.

Hirscher returned to race this season for the first time since winning a record eighth straight overall World Cup title in March 2019. In three races his best result was 23rd in the season-opening giant slalom at Sölden, Austria.

“The second run was maybe one of the most emotional moments in my career,” Hirscher said after racing on Oct. 27.

The two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion is the latest ski superstar sidelined by injury.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who succeeded Hirscher as the men’s overall champion in 2020, is missing the whole season with ongoing issues in his recovery from a hard crash in January at the finish of a downhill in Wengen, Switzerland.

Mikaela Shiffrin, the five-time women’s overall champion, was injured crashing on Saturday when in sight of her record-extending 100th World Cup win in a giant slalom at Killington, Vermont.

Hirscher is not the only ski great making a comeback after stopping five years ago.

Lindsey Vonn, at age 40, is preparing to return in the weeks ahead in the speed races of downhill and super-G she used to dominate.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing