ÖSV President Peter Schröcksnadel described Marcel Hirscher’s early ski training after the ankle fracture as a “mistake”:”He actually wanted to start in Sölden. But he made a mistake and started training too early. This caused him pain,”said Schröcksnadel on Friday in Sölden after a phone call with the injured overall World Cup winner.
Hirscher’s ultimate goal is to become painless again, Schröcksnadel said about the ÖSV star, who had suffered an ankle fracture during his first snow training in mid-August and had to wear gypsum for weeks afterwards. On the 11th. The six-time overall World Cup winner had returned to skiing on October 6th, but soon afterwards he complained of pain.
Schröcksnadel is convinced that Hirscher will be back on the racetrack very soon “It’s not such a difficult injury. Marcel will certainly return relatively quickly. Then he just needs a few days of training, but he will be very strong again in the coming winter,”the association president is convinced.
Anna Veith and Eva-Maria Brem on the women’s side are hoping for similar things from Schröcksnadel:”Both are physically fit. There is still a lack of training,”says the Tyrolean.
Schröcksnadel expects a lot from the reduction of the training groups in the ÖSV-Alpine area, which was made possible thanks to an additional million euros,”This was a step that we had to take. And I hope that it will not only have an effect next year, but that we will feel it this winter.”
The many injuries, not only in the ÖSV sector, make the ÖSV president pensive:”There must be a reason for this. We will look for it and if we find it out, we will go public with it and correct it”, the Tyrolean promised,”It is unacceptable for the respective nation as well as the ski company that a quarter of the athletes are injured every year”.
As always, Schröcksnadel’s sporting goals for the season are immodest, including victories and World Cup balls as well as a clear increase in the men’s downhill race:”If we win as much at the Olympics as we did at the World Championships, we are very satisfied,”he said in response to the upcoming Winter Games in Pyeongchang. At least he admitted:”Of course, that’s a very ambitious goal.”
In addition, it’s a matter of regaining the Nations Cup in the women’s singles:”In the men’s singles, that’s out of the question. It’s very important to me that we win the Nation’s Cup.”
Schröcksnadel commented on the expected bad weather on the weekend of the season’s opening on the Rettenbach glacier:”We have a great team here and I am very confident that they will be able to do it. It will be a challenge, but we will overcome it.”