Kriechmayr after the fall:

“Safety debate would annoy me insanely”

Kriechmayr only has himself to blame for his fall.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"If a safety debate were to be triggered by my fall, it would make me insanely angry." Vincent Kriechmayr blamed himself "100 percent" after his crash.

It was "purely a driving error", "I have to put the blame solely on myself", he said after his examination. He did not want to start a safety debate with his crash. Especially as he was lucky in his misfortune: no cruciate ligament rupture, "only" a severe strain, abrasions on his face - "and I have to go to the dentist. Unfortunately, a piece of my incisor broke off. But my goodness, it's a minor thing, it'll be sorted in no time."

"I'm fine"
Having feared a more serious knee injury, Kriechmayr was relieved that the diagnosis was only a pulled ligament. "Basically, I'm fine and I'm glad it turned out like this. At first I thought the injury was worse because I could hardly put any weight on the leg, so you can definitely call it a blessing in disguise," said the 33-year-old.

The doctor treating him, Christian Hoser, also spoke of a stroke of luck, but did not give any details about the duration of the break. Kriechmayr "will start with therapeutic measures immediately and a check-up in the next few days will provide information on how quickly he can return to training," Hoser was quoted as saying in a Ski Austria press release.

Kriechmayr wants to be fit for the World Championships
For Austria's number one speed specialist, a race against time now begins in order to get fit in time for the home World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm starting on February 4. "Now I will do everything I can to be as fit as possible by the World Championships," explained Kriechmayr.