Alpine skiing: the shock of next fall in Cortina d'Ampezzo – a blessing in disguise for Shiffrin's colleague Isabella Wright

The downhill race on Tofana was only a few minutes old when the following fall it shocked the ski scene.

American Wright, wearing starting number three, fell on Saturday after about 45 seconds of driving and long jumping during the delta jump and slid at high speed into the safety net, where she was thrown back onto the slope.

The 26-year-old initially remained motionless in the snow before caregivers and ski workers rushed to her aid and treated her for minutes.

Wright was then transferred to a helicopter that took her to the hospital. The race was only able to continue after a halt of about 15 minutes, which had to be stopped repeatedly due to strong winds.

To everyone's surprise, Wright returned to the finish area about an hour after the start of the race and gave the green light in an interview with Eurosport.

“I'm really happy to be standing here. I wanted to make sure I'm standing here again and supporting my teammates. It was unfortunate circumstances for me today, and I'm grateful to be back on my feet.” explained the speed specialist, who came to the interview with a bandage on her face.

She added: “I have a cut on my chin and I need stitches. We will see how my head improves. But overall I was very lucky.”

Wright's teammate Mikaela Shiffrin and Swiss Corinne Sutter, among others, had fallen hard at the same point the day before, which is why organizers had slightly deffused the delta jump before the second descent in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Saturday.