Slovak skier Petra Vlhová on Wednesday, February 18, two years after a serious injury, she took to the starting line again. In the Olympic slalom in Cortina d’Ampezzo, she took 20th place and especially in the second round she showed that she can keep up with her rivals. She showed the twelfth fastest time in it and moved nine places ahead.
Even so, experts were not enthusiastic about her performance. In the past, Vlhová fought close battles with the American Mikaela Shiffrin, which won gold again at the Olympics after eight years. In Wednesday’s race on the Olimpia delle Tofane slope, she proved that she is the best slalom skier in history and triumphed with a gaping lead of 1.5 seconds over her rivals.
The thirty-year-old superstar thus returned to the sports Olympus. The last time she excelled in it was 8 years ago in Pyeongchang, where she won gold in giant slalom and silver in combined. Four years later, however, she experienced a nightmare, she came to Beijing as the biggest star, stood at the start of all six disciplines, but did not finish three and did not win a single valuable metal.
And it was the fight between the two biggest stars that people missed. Austrian expert Ernst Hausleitner said so during a live broadcast on ORF television. “It breaks my heart, it’s an absolute tragedy. Petra’s fights with Mikaela Shiffrin were so great. You can tell she’s not completely safe.” he declared.
Former Slovak downhill skier Veronika Zuzulová had a similar opinion. “There is a lack of dynamics. In Petra, you can feel the roughness. The technique is there, but I can see that it is limited. Something is limiting it. The driving lacks lightness and aggressiveness.” said her older colleague on the TV broadcast: Sport.
Petra was satisfied with her performance. She thoroughly enjoyed the feelings after arriving at the finish line, where her parents and many Slovak fans came to support her. No wonder, she hasn’t experienced them for a very long time. “They were amazing. I was really looking forward and I’m still looking forward to being here, that I came back after those two difficult years and I’m back. Now I just need to ski a lot, work hard and I believe it will go in the right direction.” she told TASR.
Thirty-year-old Vlhová returned to the slopes at the start of the Winter Olympics in Italy after a two-year break caused by a complicated knee injury and a long recovery. However, she did not finish the slalom as part of the team combination, when she got a spike in the middle of the track. After an eight-day break, which she filled with training and rest, she again stood on the Tofana slope.
In the opening round of the classic slalom, she did not do so well. Her ride lacked momentum and finished 2.86 seconds behind in 29th place. She admitted that at the start she felt the stress of getting to the finish line, which tied her legs a bit. “I was under stress, of course, and the conditions were a bit more demanding for me, so it was also connected that I also wanted to reach the finish line, and I didn’t complete my ride. Well, that’s what it’s about, the competitions are difficult and I need to ‘race’,” she said.
Vlhová finished just in the top 30, which guaranteed her the first place at the start in the 2nd round. She took advantage of the modified track and was able to move up to the 20th place. “The second round was much better, so I’m very happy about that. I didn’t forget to ski, so I relied on that. It was important for me to start, to be here and to bounce off something. So now I know roughly where I am and I know I have a lot of work to do“, she continued, saying that she has not yet revealed other plans for the season.
Everything will depend on the condition of the knee. After the Olympics, however, she will first allow herself to rest: “It was quite a burden, I was a little short of breath at the finish line. He’s holding the knee, but I can feel it. I will rest for the next two or three days and then it will pass. It will work, it just takes time, it takes a lot of patience and I believe in myself. VI think I still have it. But I haven’t skied in two years and I won’t catch up in a few months.”
The winner of the big crystal globe from 2021 returned to the competitive carousel after more than two years since the injury she suffered on January 20, 2024 during the domestic giant slalom in Jasná. After the fall, she had to undergo knee surgery, subsequent rehabilitation did not improve her condition enough to allow her to race again. She thus underwent another operation. She finally confirmed her desire to return to the Olympic slopes in January of this year, when doctors gave her the green light.
“It was great, it was great to experience those emotions again, to be at the finish line, to see all those people. To experience those feelings, that adrenaline, that stress. Now it’s something new for me because I’m in a completely different position than before. We are on the right track,” said Vlhová, who, in addition to her start, managed to watch at least a little of the hockey players who advanced to the medal fights and wished them much success.
