Soelden, Austria - Austrian skier Nicole Hosp ruptured the cruciate ligament in her right knee when she fell in the opening race of the alpine World Cup season on Saturday, doctors said. The injury could mean the end of the Olympic season before it really started for the former World Cup and world champion Hosp.
Hosp, 25, lost her balance halfway through the first run of the giant slalom event on the Soelden glacier.
She was airlifted to a hospital in Innsbruck where examinations revealed the grave nature of the injury which will require surgery, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) said.
"I fell on my back and twisted my knee. I felt a sharp pain," Hosp said before being flown to the clinic.
The injury came almost 10 months after she damaged her left knee ahead of a slalom in Zagreb which sidelined her for several weeks. Hosp said ahead of Saturday's race that she has fully overcome that injury.
Hosp's fate is the latest setback for the Austrian team which saw the retirement of Renate Goetschl and Hermann Maier in recent weeks.
Hosp was the team's biggest hope for the women's overall title. She won the overall crown in 2007 and was a giant slalom world champion the same year. Hosp has 11 World Cup race victories.
