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By BEN NAGLE
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14 View commentsOlympic superstar Mikaela Shiffrin has given her fans an insight into the gruesome injuries she suffered in her horror World Cup crash last week.
The Team USA skier had to be stretchered off the slopes in Vermont after doing a flip and sliding into the protective barriers, with medics rushing to her aid.
Now the 29-year-old, who is considered to be one of the greatest alpine skiers of all-time, has lifted the lid on her ongoing recovery and shared a series of images with her 1.4million followers.
'Reflecting back on the crash after about a week, I’m incredibly thankful the crash wasn’t worse,' she wrote. 'It was damn close to piercing some organs that would have changed this situation entirely for the worse.
'I’m grateful for my team, everybody at both Rutland Regional Medical Center and Vail Health who have been taking care of me, and the outpouring of love and kind words from all of you.'
She went on to explain that she had been 'impaled' during the scary incident, before going on to discuss the 'speculation about what caused the puncture wound'.
*WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW*
Mikaela Shiffrin took a scary fall during her second Giant Slalom run at the Women's World Cup
Shiffrin has now shared a series of gruesome pictures to give her fans some more information
In one video, a nurse shows the American skier how deep the puncture wound is in her side
An X-ray shows where the puncture wound occurred and how deep it goes into her body
'Some are saying the b-net pin, some are saying the base of the gate, some are speculating about the backpack next to the b-net,' she added.
'Of course, I am fully in support of more safety measures on hill. But, I think in my case, the damage was done before I got close to the net…and in addition to my own coaches and the volunteers who helped me, I want to thank Jojo (coach for Switzerland) who was first to get to me and helped soo so much.
'After reviewing the video several times, we think it was the tip of my ski pole…given the size and shape of the point of entry. Maybe it pierced in, and then I rolled over it which is what dug out the small cavern…hard to say, really. We’re just glad it’s limited to muscle damage.'
Shiffrin shared a snap of her bruised hips and pelvis, and even a video of the hole in her side as it was tended to by a nurse at the hospital.
When the incident occurred,Shiffrin was leading after the first run of the GS and charging after her 100th World Cup win. She was within sight of the finish line, five gates onto Killington's steep finish pitch, when she lost the grip on her outside ski.
Shiffrin, pictured on a summer trip to New York City, is one of the best alpine skiers of all-time
Shiffrin grimaces as a nurse pokes and prods her during her visit to the hospital in Killington
Shiffrin thanked the medical staff for tending to her on the mountain at the World Cup meet
She hit a gate and did a somersault before sliding into another gate. The fencing slowed her momentum as she came to an abrupt stop.
Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd.
The American has not suffered as many devastating injuries as many ski racers have. In her 14-year career, she has only had to rehab two injuries that happened on the hill: a torn medial collateral ligament and bone bruising in her right knee in December 2015 and a sprained MCL and tibiofibular ligament in her left knee after a downhill crash in January 2024. Neither knee injury required surgery and both times Shiffrin was back to racing within two months.
To date, she has earned five overall World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals - along with a silver - and seven world championships.
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