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The complexity of downhill skiing reached a new height last month when even a legend like Mikaela Shiffrin couldn’t avoid its obvious dangers. With a record 95 World Cup match wins already in her career, Shiffrin faced a challenge navigating the Olympia delle Tofane course, resulting in a fall and a sore left leg. Fortunately, she avoided an ACL rupture. However, her boyfriend, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, was not as fortunate. He is still recovering from a downhill injury sustained in Eugene last month.

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So in a situation like this, a specialist’s guidance is the most needed. Eventually, Aleksander turned up as that specialist to share his view on the downhill skiing part. 

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Aleksander Aamodt Kilde pens down his take on the downhill inspection 

After Mikaela Shiffrin’s accident in that Italian course, USA team HC Paul Kristofic argued about the high-speed landing. He termed it as being one of the major reasons for downhill accidents. Mikaela Shiffrin’s boyfriend also batted for the same. In the conversation with Doug Lewis, he explained, “I’m just going through it with sort of not high speed, but constant speed. So I can sort of feel out the terrain a little bit on my foot and stuff.” A snippet of that interview is just out on IG as ELITEAM posted it on its account. The caption went, “@akilde shares his Inspection routine for Downhill and Super-G. Super interesting! Coaches and racers pay attention!”

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Moreover, he was also in support of the slow and sound start, to take out a better inspection. “The first training, I always do pretty slow, try to figure things out and do good analysis”, the former world champion conceded. But he was also in support of the acclimatization. In that notion, Aleksander voiced a night skiing routine to stay mentally ready for the next day’s challenge. In a fateful situation, these words seemed like proper guidance in downhill skiing. So the budding skiing talents should keep a note of it as accidents have kept coming in from that zone. 

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After Vlhova, another opponent of Mikaela Shiffrin faces an accident 

Before facing Mikaela Shiffrin in the World Cup last month, Petra Vlhova faced a season-ending injury in Jasna downhill. After that, the list included Shiffrin’s accident in the Italian downhill. Now it was time for a downhill specialist, Sofia Goggia, to extend that list of injured skiers. On Monday, the veteran had her season-ending injury in the tibia and malleolus bones. The 31-year-old skiing luminary has a history of accidents in the Super-G as well. But this time, the situation felt a lot more serious. 

Read more: Mikaela Shiffrin Earns Praises From Boyfriend’s Mother After His ‘Gut Wrenching’ Fall

In this season, there was yet another fateful incident where even the specialists faced downhill accidents. At this critical time, the skiing camps should keep a careful eye on Aleksander’s outpourings.

Watch this story: 7x Skiing World Champion Mikaela Shiffrin’s Intense Workout Routine Challenges Michael B. Jordan’s ‘Creed’ Physique

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Prasun Chakrabarty

2,302 Articles

Prasun Chakrabarty is a Senior Writer in the Olympic Sports division at EssentiallySports, where he covers track and field, gymnastics, swimming, and other Olympic disciplines. A seasoned journalist with three years at the company, Prasun's extensive knowledge and passion for track and field were evident from day one. With years of connections and research already established, he brought a unique edge to the ES Insights and Trends Desk. He has since become a key voice in the company's Olympic sports coverage. His star coverage includes World Athletics Indoor Championships, USATF Outdoor Championships, and reporting live from the U.S. Marathon Trials. His expertise earned him a special invitation from the Paris City Council to cover lead-up events ahead of the 2024 Olympics. Over time, his stories have sparked real-world impact. His piece on athlete mental toughness drew praise from Texas Volleyball head coach Jerritt Elliott, while a feature on winter sports caught the attention of Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, who engaged with it publicly. His reporting has made its way into Wikipedia, where editors have cited his work as a trusted source on Olympic sports. Being an alum of the Journalistic Excellence Program (JEP) and an active member of the ES Think Tank, he’s part of the team driving the site’s long-term coverage strategy.

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Suman Varandani

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