Mikaela Shiffrin gives injury update after FIS Alpine Ski World Cup crash in Vermont - 'I was really lucky'

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Three-time Olympic medallist Mikaela Shiffrin has given her fans an injury update after crashing during her bid to secure a record-extending 100th World Cup win in Vermont earlier this month. The 29-year-old collided with a gate at high speed, puncturing an oblique muscle. She was allowed to return to Colorado following initial medical treatment, but underwent surgery last Thursday.

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Mikaela Shiffrin will not set a date for her return having come within millimetres of disaster at a World Cup giant slalom event in Vermont earlier this month.

The three-time Olympic medallist underwent surgery after suffering a punctured oblique muscle during a dramatic crash in her bid to claim a 100th World Cup victory.

Shiffrin collided with a gate at high speed, and following medical treatment, was initially allowed to return home to Colorado to rest and recover.

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She returned to hospital last Thursday to clear the fluid and deal with some torn muscle around her pelvis, but the 29-year-old admits her injuries could have been even worse.

"It is a deep puncture wound with quite a lot of severe muscle trauma," she said. "I was really lucky because it was probably like a millimetre from my colon.

"The wound vac just wasn’t quite able to do the proper work to drain the fluid out of my body so it could heal.

"That’s where the surgery came in. We discovered a pocket of fluid that was untouched by the wound vac."

Shiffrin was hoping to extend her record as the alpine skier with the most World Cup wins ever.

She insists she does not know when she can return to the slopes and continue her bid to reach 100 victories.

"We were trying to avoid surgery because it meant opening up the area more, which causes a bit more damage," she said.

"In the end, it was probably the best option to clean out the wound and figure out what was going on in there.

"I was able to have my oblique reattached to my iliac crest. There was a layer that was torn away.

"I think if all things had gone perfectly and all the drainage just came out, we were pretty sure the season would be possible.

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"It just depends on how I improve over the next weeks and months."

The seven-time World Championship gold medallist believes that at the highest level, sport comes down to fine margins.

"I should have been more on my outside ski," she said. "You’re racing at your limit, and there are fine margins in this sport. It’s a difference of just a couple of centimetres between crashing like that or winning a run.

"We have to be on the limit, and crashes do happen. If I was just a few feet lower or higher, I might have missed the gate entirely and just skied away."

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Despite being forced to wait for a landmark 100th win, Shiffrin feels lucky to have avoided life-changing injuries.

"There’s a fair amount of luck involved," she added.

"On one hand, you create your own luck through preparation and hard work. On the other hand, I have gratitude for not going through that gate with my neck or having the impact hit my colon.

"I’ve had plenty of luck in my career. You can see how easily it goes wrong and how hard it is to just make it to the finish with a fast time on a daily basis.

"I’m grateful for how many times I’ve been able to do that."

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