Giants specialist Ellenberger suffered after training accident: ‘Sometimes I only saw stars’

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This was not how Andrea Ellenberger, 30, imagined Christmas. Not only is she without points this winter, but she is also suffering from the consequences of her fall more than three weeks ago.

“But I’m not in panic mode. “I have experienced similar or worse situations too many times in my career,” says the Hergiswil resident. But it is also a fact: she would have liked a different starting position for the giant slalom in Lienz (Austria) on Thursday.

Ellenberger still feels tension in her neck. However, she knows that her training crash in Sugarbush (USA) could have had much worse consequences. “I had a huge pig,” she says. But what actually happened then?

Somersaults and somersaults

Review: Ellenberger prepares for the race in Mont-Tremblant (Ka). On the last day, she wants to do one last half run – “for the feel of the surface,” as she says. It happens immediately: she hangs, steps on the indoor ski, shoots to the right – somersaults and somersaults in the fresh snow follow. “She was probably driving between 60 and 80 km/h,” reports head coach Beat Tschuor.

Ellenberger comes to a stop and remains lying with his body contorted. “At first I didn’t move – I didn’t dare. At some point I started doing it: feet, legs, upper body, head. Everything was perfect.” Back at the hotel it becomes clear that she has not only suffered serious bruises. There is a suspicion of a concussion. “I did all the exercises according to the protocol and felt good. But as soon as I started exercising, it worked nothing more. My body cramped, I felt nauseous and sometimes I saw stars.”

“I drive strong when I’m angry”

After entering the giant slalom in Mont-Tremblant, Ellenberger gets cramps again at the finish, she is nauseous and dizzy. “The doctors strongly advised me to skip the second race and travel home.”

Said and done. Ellenberger flies back to Switzerland – and straight to bed. “I lay flat for a week, my body needed rest,” she says.

Ellenberger is doing better now: she recently took part in an FIS giant slalom in Meiringen, which she won as expected. But the goal was not victory. “It was about feeling the nervousness at the start again and getting into the rhythm of the race.”

What awaits you in Lienz? “My season so far has been forgettable. At the same time, I always drive fast when I’m angry. After all, I’ve had enough negative emotions now – that should be enough for the rest of the winter.”

Source : Blick