Natalie Eilers comes back from horrific crash to continue pursuit of Olympic dream
Natalie Eilers' dream of becoming an Olympic ski jumper was almost derailed 15 months ago while training in Slovenia.
Natalie Eilers has had the dream of becoming an Olympic ski jumper since she was just six years old.
But that dream was almost derailed 15 months ago while she was training in Slovenia.
Eilers says she came off a little crooked on a jump and couldn't get things straightened out before landing.
'When I finally came into my landing, my left ski was able to get straight, but my right was a little bit off,' said the 26-year-old.
'My knees were going in the forward direction. My one ski is going (straight), the other just spun around backwards.'
Painful road back
Eilers ended up suffering multiple injuries, including a torn ACL, a torn Meniscus, a couple of compression fractures and a partially dislocated shoulder.
After two operations and many hours of rehab, Eilers is back.
While some wondered if she would ever be able to jump again, giving it up wasn't an option for Eilers.
'I wasn't ready to be done,' she said.
'I was having a really good season leading into this. I was so happy and excited to be jumping for the Olympic season, and it's been my dream since I was a little girl. Everything in my life has led up to this point, and I just wasn't ready.'
Natalie Eilers' dream of becoming an Olympic ski jumper was almost derailed 15 months ago while training in Slovenia.
Natalie Eilers' dream of becoming an Olympic ski jumper was almost derailed 15 months ago while training in Slovenia.
First time back
Next month, Eilers returns to the scene of the crash in Slovenia, where the team trains.
She says she's thought a lot about that first jump back.
'I'm just really excited to get back and do that. Even though it will be a small hill that I start on—a really small hill. But every single step along the way is huge for me. I don't mind it being on a small hill because that's what we usually train on at the beginning of the summer anyway, so I'm just really excited.'
Olympic dream is still alive
Eilers is excited that after all of her hard work, she gets to continue to pursue her Olympic dream.
'The fact that I'm able and cleared and I'm good and have a chance to qualify, that means everything to me,' she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Australian Olympic dressage rider suspended after video appears to show him repeatedly whipping horse
Heath Ryan has been provisionally suspended by Equestrian Australia, pending an investigation. (via CNN Newsource) An Australian dressage rider has been provisionally suspended and will be investigated, according to Equestrian Australia (EA), after a video emerged on social media that appears to show him repeatedly whipping a horse. Heath Ryan, who represented Australia in dressage at the 2008 Olympics, can be seen in the video – which the rider said is about two years old – hitting a horse around 40 times. Ryan said in a lengthy Facebook post defending the incident that everything in the video 'transpired sincerely with the (horse's) best interests the sole consideration.' CNN Sports has reached out to Ryan for comment. EA said the provisional suspension will last until 'a thorough investigation of this matter' has been completed, adding that it had also received a formal complaint about the incident. 'Equestrian Australia is extremely alarmed and concerned by the treatment of the horse shown in this footage,' the governing body said in a statement. 'Equestrian Australia has this afternoon imposed a provisional suspension of this person's membership of Equestrian Australia and their rights, privileges and benefits associated with their membership.' EA said it 'takes matters of animal welfare very seriously.' In his Facebook post, the 66-year-old equestrian rider said the horse was brought to him on the way to the 'knackery,' where animals go to be killed, after a riding accident had left his owner in intensive care. Ryan described the horse, Nico, as a 'problem child' that got 'worse and worse until the accident.' 'I felt obliged to the horse to just have a look and see if it was possibly salvageable,' Ryan wrote on Facebook. 'Well did I get a shock and so the video. I have never ridden anything like it. I am so sad this was caught on video. 'If I had been thinking of myself I would have immediately just gotten off and sent Nico to the knackery. That video was a life or death moment for Nico and of that I was very aware. 'I felt I genuinely had to try my very hardest to see if Nico would consider other options. Anyway by the end of that initial ride I did feel Nico was responding. I rode Nico for another couple of days and he responded very well and started to go without the use of excessive driving aids. Alongside his statement, Ryan posted a new video, which he described as Nico 'thriving in a loving and competitive home with an exciting future.' Ryan said the video which prompted the EA suspension was posted by an 'unhappy ex employee.' 'All I can say is that this awful video was collateral damage of me from the bottom of my heart launching a rescue mission,' Ryan added.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Karsten Warholm breaks his own world best 300-metre hurdles time
Karsten Warholm crushed his own 300-metre hurdles world best time in front of a home crowd in Oslo, Norway on Wednesday, clocking 32.67 seconds. Warholm set the previous mark of 33.05 seconds in April, but bettered that time by almost half a second at the Oslo Diamond League in Bislett Stadion. The Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion surged past American Rai Benjamin on the home straight and celebrated by roaring and ripping off his top. 'The race went well, although I was rather worried with how much Rai was closing on me,' Warholm said after the race, per World Athletics. 'But I knew I could push on over the last hurdle to home. I usually fade at the end of the 400, so the 300 suits me to some degree, but I will be back strong in the 400 on Sunday.' Warholm was competing against reigning Olympic 400m hurdles champion Benjamin and Brazil's former world champion Alison dos Santos for the first time over 300m hurdles – a lesser-seen event compared to the 400m. Benjamin crossed the line in 33.22, holding off a late challenge from dos Santos, who was third in 33.38. Those two, alongside Warholm, will return to the track on Sunday for a showdown in the 400m hurdles. World Athletics announced earlier this year that the 300m hurdles would become an official event at its competitions, though conditions for setting the inaugural world record – as opposed to a world best time – will be decided 'once the popularity of the event (has) reached a meaningful level.' Elsewhere at the Oslo Diamond League, Sweden's Armand Duplantis took the pole vault title with a meeting record of 6.15 meters. The victory means that Duplantis, who broke the world record for the 11th time earlier this year, is unbeaten since July 2023.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Simone Biles apologizes for heated exchange with Riley Gaines over trans athlete participation
Simone Biles, of the United States, poses during the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, Spain, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, FILE) Two-time Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles has apologized for getting personal in a heated online exchange with former collegiate swimmer turned anti-trans athlete activist Riley Gaines. Biles, an 11-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated gymnast of all-time, initially responded to a post by Gaines on the social media platform X after Gaines called a player on a Minnesota high school softball team 'a boy.' Biles wrote that Gaines was 'truly sick' and a 'straight up sore loser,' comments Biles later retracted. Biles wrote that the current system in sports doesn't adequately address the balance between competitive equity and inclusivity and the discussion of the topic can lead to 'frustration and heated exchanges.' 'It didn't help for me to get personal with Riley,' Biles wrote. Biles clarified that her main objection was that Gaines opted to single out an underage athlete, when that athlete has no control over what Biles called a 'flawed system.' 'I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition,' Biles posted. 'We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.' The Associated Press
