Last winter, the Swiss Camille Rast finally established herself at the top of the world in alpine skiing: The 26-year-old celebrated her first two World Cup victories in the slaloms in Killington and Flachau, finished sixth in the battle for the yellow jersey and crowned her strong season with a world championship title when she secured the gold medal in the slalom in Saalbach. The only thing that prevented Rast from winning the discipline ranking in the slalom was a serious fall in February in Sestriere – the consequences of which continue to affect Rast.
When a slalom is on the program for the first time this winter for the women of the Alpine skiing circus in Levi, Finland on Saturday, Camille Rast will also be part of the Swiss squad, which has a good chance of top results in the Stangenwald. However, your body could thwart Rast’s plans. The reigning slalom world champion confirmed this to “Blick”.
“Unfortunately, I am in pain every day,” said Rast, who emphasized that the consequences of the fall in Sestriere will probably stay with her for several months or even years.
“We never know how the hip will react,” said the Swiss: “I have to be patient and keep working – I can’t do anything else.”
“The injury evolves and is never the same”
Although Rast did not tear any ligaments in Sestriere and fortunately his bones remained intact, his physiotherapist confirmed shortly after the accident that the fall had treacherous consequences: “One part of the body stuck to the snow and the other continued to slide. There was friction between two muscle groups, which is very painful. We have had to have fluid removed from the area twice because the body cannot absorb it,” Florian Lorimier explained at the time.
Particularly problematic: Even today, Rast never knows exactly how her body will react to the long-term effects: “The injury develops and is never the same. I just have to be careful and everything will be fine.”
It remains to be seen how things will turn out on Saturday. It is clear that Rast will be one of the favorites on the Levi Black, even with restrictions.