Mikaela Shiffrin during a press conference at the STIFEL Killington World Cup - Previews - Source: Getty

"It was probably like a millimeter from my colon"- Mikaela Shiffrin shares intricacies of injury that needed surgery after devastating crash

Modified Dec 17, 2024 03:25 GMT

Mikaela Shiffrin opened up about the details of her injury after a devastating crash at the World Cup Killington a couple of weeks ago. The American Alpine skier revealed that she had opted to undergo a quick surgery as the wound vac was unable to remove the fluid inside the cavity of the wound so that it could heal.

Shiffrin competed at the World Cup in Killington in an attempt to register the monumental achievement of registering 100 World Cup wins. However, tragedy struck the athlete before the finish line of the race when she veered off the course and crashed into the protective ropes. The 29-year-old braced herself before being attended to by the ski patrol.

Hours later, she shared a video on social media and revealed that she had an abrasion on her hip that restricted her movement, and she was out of any form of danger. A week later, Shiffrin revealed that she had undergone a quick surgery. She spoke about the intricacies of the injury as well as her decision to undergo surgery in an interview with Skiracing.com.

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

Furthermore, she revealed that her team tried to avoid undergoing surgery however, it would have caused more damage.

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

Mikaela Shiffrin shares her thoughts after the crash

Mikaela Shiffrin during a training session at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Giant Slalom - Source: Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin shared her thoughts on social media after her crash at the World Cup in Willington. The former World Cup champion expressed that the impact of the crash was such that it would take some time to recover and return to the slopes for the remainder of the Alpine skiing season.

"Oh look…I’ve been impaled.😅Gonna be a minute…like a few weeks minimum…to be able to take on much of any force. Thank you all again for every ounce of love and support, in the grand scheme, it’s a small pot hole (pun intended), and I’m very thankful for that!" she wrote.

Furthermore, Mikaela Shiffrin thanked her fans for their unwavering support during tough times, which helped her through her recovery as she would be away from the slopes till she makes a full recovery.