Olympic skier Aleksandar Aamodt Kilde cared for by girlfriend after he is airlifted to hospital following horror crash
AN Olympic skier is in a stable condition being cared for by his girlfriend after he was airlifted to hospital following a horror crash.
Aleksandar Aamodt Kilde, 31, was approaching the end of the course at the World Cup event on Saturday when he crashed and injured his right leg.
According to ESPN, the two-time winner in the downhill discipline was treated for a lengthy period of time on the course.
He was then airlifted to hospital on a helicopter after his leg had been heavily strapped.
Kilde shared an update from his hospital bed informing fans he was okay and being taken care of by his partner and fellow ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin.
The pair shared a photo of themselves alongside the caption: “I’m here (and being taken care of by the one and only Mikaela Shiffrin
)…patched up…thank you so much for all of the messages.
“I’m grateful for all the words of love and support. This sport can be brutal, but I still love it.
“Will share more later.”
Kilde, who won silver and bronze medals in the combined and super-G disciplines at the Tokyo Olympics, is the long-time partner of American skier and two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin.
It is understood he was suffering with an illness earlier in the week.
But Kilde did place third in a shorter downhill event on Thursday, before he secured the same spot in the super-G on Friday.
On Saturday, the Norwegian lost control during an S-shaped section just over two minutes into the course.
He then made another error when navigating the left-hand turn before the finish, flying off his skis and crashing backwards into the fence.
Kilde’s collision was the second crash in as many days in Wengen.
On Friday, French star Alexis Pinturault was airlifted from the slopes after suffering an accident during the super-G event.
At the time of Kilde’s incident, Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt led the downhill event.
Odermatt beat Kilde to gold in the downhill at last year’s world championships as the Norway skier was forced to settle for the silver medal.