In hospital again

After a difficult World Cup season, hip surgery followed

World Cup ski cross racer Christina Födermayr is back in hospital.(Bild: Gepa/Matic Klansek zVg Krone KREATIV,)

Although Christina Födermayr took her first podium place in the last Ski Cross World Cup season in Arosa, the 22-year-old can look back on a tough winter. Fittingly, the Upper Austrian has now had to go under the knife again due to problems in her hip.

"With the adrenaline in my body, I was still able to block out the pain and race, but I was still struggling," says ski cross ace Christina Födermayr, who therefore swapped her ski poles for crutches at the end of the season. "More detailed examinations revealed that the labrum (joint labrum of the hip) is broken and I will have to have an operation after the end of the season," says the 22-year-old from Utzenaich.

Injury in December
And even though the operation was planned, it somehow fits in with the past World Cup season. Especially as Födermayr actually wanted to hit the ground running and follow in Andrea Limbacher's footsteps. However, there was a setback back in December when she suffered a partial rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament and the medial collateral ligament in her left knee in a collision. A week-long break was the result and the pain in her hip was made worse by the fall.

First podium finish
The "cheerful soul" was able to return to the World Cup in February, but things didn't really run smoothly. "It was tough on the head, but not everything was bad," says Födermayr, referring to her first podium finish in Arosa (Sz.) just before the momentous crash. She now has several months of rehab ahead of her return to full speed next season. Daniel Lemberger