Worried about the future Alexander Kjeld: “It is not yet clear whether I can skate again”

Alexander Aamodt Kilde held his first “public” press conference on Thursday since his serious fall in Wengen. A few days ago, he posted frightening pictures of his calf injury, and now they appear only blurry on Instagram because they dazzlingly show the seriousness of the situation. Because: Kildee sustained a deep wound in his right calf during his fall in Wengen. The Norwegian also explained why he revealed the extreme images: “I assumed I would return to skiing soon, and I told the doctors about it. But they said: No, you won't.” “It takes time to heal an injury this serious, and he understands that now,” he said in his online press conference in three languages.

As for Kilde himself, it is not yet clear whether he will be able to race again: “It is still unclear, but at the moment I am very sure that everything will be fine again. The main question at this moment is how much “It will take time. Now it's too early to say I'll be able to drive the way I want again.” But there's one thing a speed racer doesn't want to do: give up. “There is always hope that I can compete again.” He is also currently receiving support from Mikaela Shiffrin, who is also in Innsbruck with her boyfriend after being injured. He added: “We have to be in different places now, but at least this time being together is positive. Normally we only had a few hours at this time of year, but now we have more time.”

But Kildee is currently suffering from completely different problems: “I am in a wheelchair, I cannot even push myself, and I always depend on the help of others. But I have help from my family, and without them it would be really difficult. Because at the moment it is very difficult to sleep because the pain In the shoulder and leg, it is very severe.” This pain is clearly bothering him: “At the moment there is nerve pain, especially in the leg. This is not a pleasant feeling, it is actually indescribable. “But the healing process has started and I can already put some pressure on my foot.” The rehabilitation process will take place The whole of Innsbruck. “I do it with the top five teams, they work with me all year. “I probably won't go to Norway until the summer,” he said.

According to plan, “it's all done,” Kildee says, and no further surgery will be needed. He enjoys the sympathy: “What happened in Kitzbühel also put a smile on my face,” he says. This was difficult in the first two weeks after the fall, specifically because of the “unbelievable pain.” Of course, Kildee is also thinking about what needs to change to prevent injuries like his – and to control the torrent of injuries. “We athletes have to sit down with the people involved like Markus Waldner. There's a lot going on. We have a program every evening, we have to start the drawings, the award ceremonies, and as good athletes we have a lot of press work to do. No. It's okay if it's one day, but three days in a row, at some point this is no longer possible,” the Norwegian also appeals to the FIS to rethink the calendar and daily planning. And: “Of course it would make sense to think about racing suits and cut-resistant guards. “Maybe my fall was the impetus to change something,” he says, adding: “I drove my car without an airbag. But given the violent impact, I'm not sure an airbag would have helped.