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French ski star Pinturault airlifted from course following crash, 6 days after becoming a dad

January 12, 2024 GMT

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France's Alexis Pinturault is airborne before crashing during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. Pinturault crashed in a World Cup super-G race Friday and was airlifted from the course, six days after he became a father for the first time. (AP Photo/Shin Tanaka)

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WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — French ski star Alexis Pinturault crashed in a World Cup super-G race Friday and was airlifted from the course, six days after he became a father for the first time.

Pinturault, the overall World Cup champion in 2021 and a three-time Olympic medalist, crashed on landing the Silberhorn jump approaching the final section of the storied Lauberhorn course at Wengen.

Race workers put a warming cover on Pinturault as they waited for a helicopter to land by the course and take him to a hospital. The race was delayed for about 25 minutes. It was won by Cyprien Sarrazin, who raced minutes before his French teammate Pinturault.

“We know that he was conscious and that’s the most important,” Sarrazin told Swiss broadcaster RTS.

French media later reported Pinturault ruptured the ACL in his left knee and his season was over. He had sat back on his skis before hitting the snow. His skis detached as he tumbled forward down the mountain, sliding about 50 meters before coming to a stop.

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The 32-year-old Pinturault and his wife Romane welcomed their daughter, Olympe, last Saturday in the Swiss capital Bern. That day he had been due to race in giant slalom at nearby Adelboden. Romane Pinturault travels with her husband as part of his entourage handling media relations.

Pinturault returned to racing Thursday with a career-best downhill result of ninth at Wengen. He has rarely raced the marquee speed discipline in his long career but now focuses on it and no longer races slalom.

Pinturault’s 34 career World Cup race wins include one in super-G. He also took bronze in super-G last year at the world championships held in his home town Courchevel.

Another Frenchman, Matthieu Bailet, crashed into a course-side fence within sight of the finish line. Bailet soon got up and seemed unhurt.

Also Friday, Nadine Fest, the Austrian former world junior champion in super-G, seemed to injure her left knee and shin at the women’s super-G World Cup race at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. She was airlifted from the course by helicopter.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/skiing