Emerging Stifel USST Talent Faces Injury Setback

Ava Sunshine World Championships Méribel, France: Photo GEPA

When it rains, it pours, and the injury situation with the Stifel US Ski Team women’s tech team exemplifies this. The latest casualty is the emerging talent Ava Sunshine, who reported on her Instagram that she tore her right anterior cruciate knee ligament (ACL). Just recently, Nina O’Brien, a fellow Stifel US teammate, announced that she had rebroken her leg. Following a remarkably productive camp in New Zealand, it’s disheartening to learn that these two fast women will spend months undergoing physical rehabilitation instead of indulging in the sport they adore.

Ava Sunshine swiftly ascended in the World Cup last season, making her mark by scoring in her first two career races in Levi, Finland. Throughout the 2022/23 season, the 21-year-old participated in 15 slalom and giant slalom World Cups, currently holding the 44th rank on the slalom World Cup Start List. She was also named to the 2023 US World Championship Team. Sunshine recently clinched two Australian New Zealand Cup podium finishes, including a remarkable giant slalom victory, achieving a FIS Continental Cup minimum 15-point result. She possesses immense potential and will undoubtedly make the most of her time away from skiing.

Ski Racing Media looks forward to seeing this talented woman back in the gates. Heal well, Sunshine.

Click on the image below to go to Sunshine’s Instagram post.