Skiing standout Marcel Hirscher eyes the Olympic season in return from injury and retirement
The record eight-time overall World Cup champion had his return last season from five years of retirement cut short when he was injured in December with a torn ACL in his left knee after a fall in training.
'Rehab was going on quite well and now we are back in athletic training. This is super fun, being back a professional athlete again,' Hirscher said on Instagram on Wednesday.
'FIS (the International Ski and Snowboard Federation) made a decision that I am allowed to take my 17 starts from last year's season into the upcoming season. So that means I'm ready for another season ski racing. And I think now you can call it a comeback,' Hirscher added.
While the 36-year-old Hirscher competed for Austria in his earlier career, he came back representing the Netherlands. He has an Austrian father and a Dutch mother. That means that if he decides to compete in the Olympics next year, he won't have to qualify for one of the four starting spots that the powerful Austrian team has for each race. Whereas the Netherlands doesn't have any other skiers of Hirscher's caliber.
The wild card rule allows former champions to return to the World Cup without the necessary qualifying points.
Lindsey Vonn also returned under the wild card rule last season with a new titanium knee and plans on competing in the Feb. 6-22 Olympics.
Hirscher only completed one of his three races last season, placing 23rd in the giant slalom at Sölden, Austria.
After the injury and ensuing surgery, Hirscher completed 1,000 hours of rehab.
'In the end, two questions remained: What do I want from life? What does life want from me?' Hirscher said. 'Even in difficult moments, my answer never changed: I want to race again.'
Hirscher plans to return to snow training in September.
'At the moment, I'm shifting from the rehabilitation phase into full athlete mode, with more extensive sessions and higher intensity,' Hirscher said. 'Training hard again is bringing me a lot of joy. It's shaping up to be a very athletic summer.'
Hirscher's 67 World Cup wins put him second on the all-time men's list behind only Ingemar Stenmark's 86 victories. He also won two Olympic golds, in combined and giant slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games; plus a silver in slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games.
The World Cup seasons opens in Sölden in October.
Men's skiing at the Milan-Cortina Games will be held in Bormio, while the women's events will be held in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
___
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
30 minutes ago
- New York Post
Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher thinks we've ‘lost the plot' with this health trend: ‘Don't lie to yourself'
Hold the cottage cheese. Pro rugby player Ilona Maher — whose team won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics — spends plenty of time training to dominate on the pitch. But there's one fitness-focused diet trend that she thinks is a bit over-the-top — and she points to herself as evidence that it's unnecessary. 3 Pro rugby player Ilona Maher thinks the obession with protein has gone a bit off the rails. AP A former athlete herself, Kylie Kelce complained about how 'everything is trying to be high protein' on a June episode of her podcast, Not Gonna Lie, arguing that not everything needs added protein powder. Maher was on the same page, and she's no fan of a low-carb lifestyle either. 'I have a high-protein diet, but I also have probably the highest-carb diet ever,' the 29-year-old Bristol Bears player said. 'I was raised on very high-carb diets. And carbs are really the energy that you need — that's science, truly.' That isn't to say she doesn't eat protein too. 'I get protein in for most meals, but I'm actually not as committed to the bit as I maybe could be. I think I could be leaner … if I was really focusing on protein. But I just don't see — I think I'm fine,' she added. A big issue for both women is the trend of swapping 'real' food for protein-heavy substitutes. In recent years, for example, cottage cheese recipes have blown up on social media, with people using it in place of cream cheese, sour cream, ricotta and even mayo and butter. It's low in fat and high in protein, a combo that can keep you full, increase metabolism and preserve muscle mass. Plus, the curdling process creates bacteria that are good for your gut. 3 Maher, whose team won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics, eats protein most meals — but she's not swapping 'real food' for protein-ified recipes. Getty Images But Kelce said her concern is people blending up cottage cheese and pretending it tastes like ice cream. 'Don't lie to yourself,' Maher added in agreement. 'I saw a recent one, it was like protein tiramisu. She dips the rice cake in espresso and then she puts Greek yogurt on there. I was like, that's not even f—-ing close!' 'I think we really lost the plot on that,' she said. Though she is working to eat more protein at the urging of her dietitian, for her that means more 'real food.' 'So after training I'll have a quick protein shake — that's very easy, quick protein. But if I can, I'm gonna have the eggs. I love like beef jerky,' she said. 3 'I saw a recent one, it was like protein tiramisu. She dips the rice cake in espresso and then she puts Greek yogurt on there. I was like, that's not even f—-ing close!' she said. Getty Images 'I just think, I mean maybe I'm wrong in science, but I don't know if we need that much. Because I'm doing fine and I just had a bagel this morning.' She's not the first star to take issue with the high-protein craze. This month, Bethenny Frankel also called out the fad. 'The obsession with protein is an out-of-control fad that everyday people are fixated on as if they're training for the Olympics,' she told The Post. 'They can also be calorie-dense. It's another marketing gimmick like keto or carnivore or low carb or all the absurd fads I've witnessed over the years. Balance is key.' In fact, studies show that there is such a thing as eating too much protein — and it can make you gain weight and clog your arteries. 'Consuming excessive protein, particularly from animal sources, raises insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels,' Dr. Joseph Antoun, CEO of the longevity company L-Nutra, previously told The Post. Primarily produced in the liver, IGF-1 is a hormone, that plays a crucial role in promoting growth and regulating metabolism. 'While it's essential in childhood and for muscle repair,' Antoun said, 'chronically elevated IGF-1 in adults has been linked to accelerated biological aging and therefore an increased risk of age-related conditions, notably cancer.'
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Field of local talent shines at 2025 Boston Triathlon
Outside of the elite field, Westford Academy graduate Jack Whitman, a rising sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, was the top men's finisher. Competing in the under-19 age group, Whitman finished in 1:54:50, beating Fedor Orlov, 10 years his senior, by nine seconds. Advertisement Georgia Sege was the top women's age group finisher in the Olympic distance, completing the course in 2:14:03. In the sprint distance, Kevin Kelsey of Beverly was the top men's finisher and the only athlete to finish in under one hour, with a time of 57:05. Natalie Obando was the top female finisher in the sprint race with a time of 1:03:48. In the sprint-distance mixed relay, a team of notable locals took home first place. Sarah True, who represented Team USA in triathlon at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, swam the first leg; Bill Richards completed the cycling leg; and Boston Athletic Association president and CEO Jack Fleming ran the final stretch to finish in a division-winning time of 1:05:10. Advertisement Emma Healy can be reached at
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Marc Marquez wins sixth consecutive Moto GP race
Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez won the Austrian Grand Prix for the first time in his career to take a 142-point lead over brother Alex in the championship. It was the Spaniard's sixth consecutive grand prix victory, having won Saturday's sprint from the second row. Not since 2014 had the 32-year-old claimed six wins in a row, with Marquez now unbeaten since the British Grand Prix in May. "I'm super, super happy to finally take the first victory here in Austria," said Marquez. "We found a good setup, especially with the used tyres, as we saw with Marco [Bezzecchi] in the first part. "He was super strong, but then I just waited. I tried in the beginning, but it was too risky. Then I preferred to wait and attack in the end." Bezzecchi led for much of the race after starting from pole position before a late surge from the Spaniard. The Italian then had to settle for third behind Gresini Ducati rider Fermin Aldeguer, who took his best MotoGP result. With nine rounds left, Marquez is now firmly in the driving seat to claim a seventh MotoGP crown.
