“There is a miracle on board”: the suffering Austrian skier becomes a father for the first time

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Good news from the Austrian ski team. Shortly before the start of the season, giant slalom specialist Roland Leitinger (32) and his wife Simone announced that they were expecting a child.

“There is a miracle on board. The Leitinger family is growing,” the two wrote on Instagram alongside photos of Leitinger’s hand lovingly resting on his wife’s clearly visible baby bump. With the hashtag ‘March2024’, the expectant parents also announce when their offspring should be born.

The news spreads quickly through the ski circus. Numerous other stars congratulated the couple, who have been married since May 2022. These include the Austrian Tamara Tippler (32), who recently became a mother, and the Swede Frida Hansdotter (37), who is expecting her second child.

Injuries over and over again

Leitinger has competed in 71 World Cup competitions in his career so far and reached the podium twice: in 2019 as third in the parallel race in Alta Badia (It) and in 2021 as second in the giant slalom in Sölden (Ö). He celebrated his greatest success in 2017 when he surprisingly won silver in the giant slalom at the World Championships in St. Moritz GR.

It was not only after this coup that Leitinger continued to struggle with injuries. Before that season he had to take a two-month break due to serious back problems. In January 2018 he tore his cruciate ligament and subsequently missed the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang (SKor). The same fate befell him at the start of the 2021/22 season. Particularly bitter: three weeks after the podium finish in Sölden, he tore his cruciate ligament and was out for the rest of the season.

But he never thought about giving up. In his last comeback season he finished between places 20 and 29 five times. Now he has to start next winter on a high level. (beer)

Source : Blick