Injured downhill star Kilde calls for better World Cup race-day schedules to protect athletes
Injured downhill star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde says skiers must be consulted about better World Cup race-day schedules to help protect them
GENEVA (AP) — Skiers must be consulted about better World Cup race-day schedules to help protect them from injuries, downhill star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde said Thursday.
The former overall World Cup champion and two-time Olympic medalist spoke out in his first call with international media since a shocking Jan. 13 crash on the storied Wengen downhill ended his season.
“It’s super important that we look at something that’s more sustainable,” Kilde said in an online call from his winter base in Austria where he expects to spend several weeks using a wheelchair. “We as athletes need to speak up.”
The 31-year-old Norwegian is among a slew of World Cup, Olympic and world champions to crash hard in a packed January program, including his partner Mikaela Shiffrin. The American standout women’s skier is chasing a women's record-equaling sixth overall World Cup title.
