Jan. 23 (UPI) — Team USA’s Olympics star Mikaela Shiffrin, who was injured in a November giant slalom race, will return to Alpine Ski World Cup competition, she said Thursday.
Shiffrin announced her return on Instagram and X. She injured her oblique muscle when she crashed halfway down a run Nov. 30 in Killington, Vt. Shiffrin, who in search of her 100th World Cup victory, was taken by stretcher off the slope.
“I got impaled back in November and I have about a 7-centimeter-deep puncture wound or stab wound into my obliques,” Shiffrin said Thursday on NBC’s Today show.
“So, that’s been quite a grueling process of rehab and trying to recover.”
Shiffrin, 29, said she resumed training over the last week. The two-time gold medalist plans to compete in a Jan. 30 event in Courchevel, France.
“I think it’s been a little bit uncertain whether I could even return this season,” Shiffrin said.
“But I’ve been able to get on snow. I’ve been able to train a little bit the past week or so, and I’m actually going to be heading over to Europe in the next couple of days to race in my first World Cup [event] back in Courchevel.”
The skiing star chronicled her recovery on social media, including on her YouTube channel. She said her goal was to let the injury heal from the inside out, but she developed fever symptoms Dec. 12. Doctors also found fluid in the area, and Shiffrin underwent surgery.
The Alpine Ski World Cup schedule runs through late March. Shiffrin said she will likely deal with the “remnants of the injury” throughout the season.
