Terrifying moment US Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin crashes at high speed in Italy… as she admits she’s ‘sore’ but in good spirits after avoiding major injury

American skier Mikaela Shiffrin is in good spirits after her scary crash at the World Cup in Italy on Friday.

The 28-year-old Olympian lost control after a jump, leading to her crash. Shiffrin’s arms flailed as she landed on a soft patch of snow before crashing into the side netting.

Medics immediately attended to Shiffrin and she limped off the track with her left boot sticking out of the snow. Per protocol in Cortina, Shiffrin was loaded into a helicopter and taken halfway up the mountain to a landing site for further evaluations. She was then transported by ambulance to a hospital in Cortina.

Soon after, she took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank fans who visited her, hinting that she might continue competing in the Cup soon.

“Thank you everyone for your support and well wishes,” Shiffrin captioned a photo of her in bed with ice packs on her left leg. “Right now I’m just taking it day by day, and I’ll share more information or updates as I know more.

Shiffrin lost control after a jump before crashing into the side netting 20 seconds into her run

Medics removed Shiffrin from the course in a helicopter after he briefly lay in the snow

‘I’m very grateful it’s not worse, but I’m in quite a bit of pain at the moment. I’m not going skiing for the rest of this weekend.’

“I’m not going to ski at Kronplatz,” she continued. ‘It is difficult to say at the moment. I need some time to process it with my team and see how everything feels in the next few days! Thanks everyone!’

Shiffrin’s team revealed that initial analysis shows her ACL and PCL appear to be intact.

After stating on social media that she was feeling “sore,” coach Paul Kristofic praised Shiffrin for her attitude toward the accident.

“She is positive and relieved in a way,” Kristofic told the Associated Press.

‘Cause it could have been worse. But it is quite painful, as in most speeding accidents. But she was quite optimistic about it.”

Shiffrin unusually fell about 20 seconds into her run just before the narrow Tofana schuss (or chute) through rock walls, which is the most characteristic feature of the biggest women’s race of the season.

Shiffrin’s team revealed that initial analysis shows her ACL and PCL appear intact

Shiffrin and Federica Brignone join three other champions who have crashed in the past two weeks

“It’s tricky there,” Kristofic said, “because you land it and it’s a left turn with a pretty sharp drop. And she had more speed than during the training run. And then she probably cut off a little more line than necessary. And that pushed her about three feet too far to the left. And that’s where the terrain change is quite abrupt.

“So the ski loaded like crazy and then it started. She tried to make it, but she knew at that moment where she was in trouble. So she was actually trying not to hit the next fence, but then the net got stuck and she flew into the net.”

A total of 12 of the 52 starters did not finish the race, which was won by Stephanie Venier of Austria.

The descent was held under clear and sunny conditions, but with warm temperatures.

Shiffrin and Italy’s Federica Brignone became the fourth and fifth overall World Cup champions to crash out in the past two weeks after season-ending injuries. Alexis Pinturault, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde And Petra Vlhova.

Kilde is Shiffrin’s boyfriend and Vlhova is her biggest rival.

Shiffrin’s crash didn’t stop the American team from having five racers finish in the top 30 to score points: Jacqueline Wiles was 13th, Lauren Macuga 16th, Bella Wright 18th, Keely Cashman 27th and Tricia Mangan 28th.