Ski Alpin: Svindals knee more tattered than feared

For ski star Aksel Lund Svindal, knee pain has become more or less normal side effects. The problems have become more severe since the Beaver Creek races, the Norwegian reported on Wednesday in the Val Gardena Valley. But skiing in the downhill World Cup is a bit more than just working,”said Svindal, who still didn’t want to make it a big issue.

The 34-year-old has already suffered a lot of knee injuries. Last January he ended his season with another operation, which had become necessary due to meniscus damage. In 2016, he had torn his right knee and suffered a cartilage damage in the Kitzbühel downhill descent of the cruciate ligament and meniscus, which is only a small excerpt from his injury history.

The comeback in this winter season is the umpteenth time for Svindal. In Lake Louise he reported back at the end of November with a strong third place in the downhill race, in the Super-G he finished fifth the following day. A week later he celebrated his 33rd birthday in Beaver Creek. World Cup victory.

The worst thing is when there’s so much swelling. This time it took a little longer. The trip afterwards on the plane is not so great,”explained Svindal. It’s the whole package,”he said,” It’s not a part of it, there are several injuries,”especially the landings after long jumps are particularly noticeable.

After Beaver Creek he didn’t come to ski at all,”When the strain becomes great, I can’t do any training afterwards,”said Svindal. In the future, he may well decide to skip one or two of the official training sessions “Today it was rather comfortable. I thought it might be better,”he revealed after finishing 69th and trailing 3.11 seconds in the unit on Wednesday.

After all, a lot of physiotherapy and ergometer work would provide some relief. In extreme cases, however, the Norwegian would miss out on racing if the pain was unbearable,”I hope it’s not Kitzbühel or Olympia or Wengen. But it wasn’t very good in Beaver Creek either, so it would have been a shame to leave out Beaver Creek,”he said.

“I just have to look at it from day to day and not make it so much drama, because I knew before the season that it would be a bit like this,”Svindal stressed. He doesn’t take painkillers – with exceptions:”It’s best not to take them, but Voltaren or something like that. But not real painkillers.”