Ledecka set to return for World Champs in Georgia

Ester Ledecká continues her recovery after the November reoperation of her broken collarbone. Although the injury is healing very well, she has decided to postpone her entry into the competition season following the advice of her doctors. She will miss the World Ski Championships in February, but remains determined to race in the snowboarding Championships two weeks later.

Ester Ledecka, a three-time Olympic champion in skiing super G and snowboarding parallel giant slalom, apologized to the organizers of the World Ski Championships in France and withdrew from the upcoming event. Treatment of her fractured collarbone is proceeding as planned, but following her doctors’ recommendations, she will wait until it is fully healed before returning to the slopes.

Ledecka underwent a reoperation in November at the Kettenbrücke clinic in Innsbruck with Dr Sperner, where she also had a scheduled check-up. In Prague, she is continuously consulting with renowned physiotherapist Prof. Pavel Kolář, who says: “Fractures of this type can have a complicated healing process. In Ester’s case, it is currently going very well. However, she needs to be careful as the bone is still somewhat fragile. While passing the slalom gates, the shoulder is subject to a lot of impact. However, Ester no longer has any restrictions in her everyday life and has even restarted her upper body conditioning. I firmly believe that we will see Ester on skis again this season.”

Although Ledecka will not be attending the Alpine Ski World Championships, she still counts on participating in the FIS Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, in the second half of February.

“Up until the last moment I believed I would make the World Championships in France. Physically I’m in great shape, but I can’t rush anything on the snow yet. I was sad for a while after I heard the statements of Dr. Sperner and Prof. Kolar, but I understand that the most important thing is to get my shoulder back to 100%. It takes quite a beating in races, especially at the start and of course in the gates at 130 km speed. I don’t want to ruin the doctors’ great work. Not only me, but my whole team is looking forward to getting back to the World Cup races.” said Ester Ledecka.