oho #3 - The magazine of the Principality of Liechtenstein

oho#3
Photos: GEPA pictures/Harald Steiner
the Schaan Ski Club athlete suffered a serious crash and
tore cruciate ligaments in both her knees. The next
cruciate ligament injury occurred one year later, when she
crashed while training in Pitztal. In January 2010, she
suffered cruciate ligament injury number four on the
Cortina d’Ampezzo downhill run.
Risk of injury never goes away
So it comes as no great surprise, one might think, that in
the interim Tina Weirather has already won 6 World Cup
races, has secured a total of 26 podium finishes, and ended
the 2015/16 Overall World Cup a strong fourth. Yet the
development from a one-time wunderkind to an absolute
top racer has not always been smooth. Now aged 27, she
has had to overcome many setbacks on her way to the top.
For there is an ever-present risk of injuries, and she has
suffered many injuries over the years. The first major
injury occurred when she was aged just 17, shortly after
she had been crowned Junior World Downhill Champion.
While training on the World Cup ski run in Lenzerheide,
The first two serious ligament injuries did not trouble Tina
greatly. The third was tough, while the fourth was “like
the end of the world,” she once said during an interview
with the former Liechtenstein ski racer Marco Büchel. “I
had to think long and hard about whether it made sense to
go on. Eventually, I decided to give it another try.” The
decider was an internship at a life insurer. That’s when it
really became clear to her. “Skiing is simply the best thing
there is. If you have the chance to experience the training,
to be part of a team, to travel, to meet a lot of people, to be
outdoors, to test your limits every day… if you have this
chance – and perhaps only two in a hundred ever will –
then you simply have to seize it by the horns.”
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