“Don’t know if I can ski again”
Olympic champion is worried fans
29.05.2025 – 8:23 amReading time: 2 min.
A year and a half ago, Petra Vlhová was seriously injured. Since then, their fans have been waiting for the comeback. But is that at all?
The pictures of her fall in January 2024 went around the world – since then Petra Vlhová has disappeared from the ski circus. In her Slovak homeland Jasna, the Olympic champion was seriously injured and contracted a cross and inner ligament tear in the right knee. More than a year later, it is still open whether she can ever take part in a World Cup race again.
In an interview with “Radio Slovensko”, the 29-year-old now spoke openly about her time of suffering-and gave little hope of an early comeback. The planned return to the slopes was delayed again and again. In March 2025, she had to undergo surgery again due to persistent cartilage problems.
“I don’t know if I can ever go skiing again. It is very difficult to make a forecast,” explained the Slalom Olympic champion of Beijing. For a year and a half she hadn’t stood on skis. The pain would have made every movement impossible for a long time: “I had no life anymore. I couldn’t do anything – I couldn’t do anything, not walk, do not ride, not ski. When I was the smallest stress, I was already in pain.”
Rehabilitation is now running, but doubts remain. “No doctor gave me the guarantee that everything will be fine again and that I can ski again,” said Vlhová. Even if the first progress is visible, she does not know whether she could ever return to a World Cup starting house: “I’m taking one step now.”
Not only physically, this time was also extremely stressful mentally. “I wasn’t doing well in my head. I looked happy on the outside, but inside I was shattered into a thousand parts,” she reports. The injury left deep traces – and showed it how important it is to put yourself in the first place.
Despite all the setbacks, there is a spark of confidence: “I think that will only make me stronger.” But their participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics is currently more than questionable.