Unfortunately my season has come to a premature end. Two days ago in Crans Montana, Switzerland I was racing in the European Cup finals. Pumped with my result in the previous Super G Europa cup I had a good start number and a huge desire to kick some ass again.

As fate would have it however it was not to be. Instead I put on a spectacular show by having a huge crash, flipping wildly out of control 3-4 meters in the air and landing ever so ungracefully. As soon as I was in the air I knew that I had done something seriously bad to my knee. I was choppered out of the resort to the local hospital down the valley in Sion. The doctors there were most unhelpful insisting that I have to wait a week for an MRI scan and 6 more weeks for an operation. It took me all of 2 minutes to sign myself out of there, get picked up and head straight to the world renowned Orthopedic sports surgeon, Dr Schenk in Vor Arlberg, Austria. Even though it was 9pm by the time I got there I was immediately getting x-rays and an MRI to check the extent of the damage.

It turns out I snapped my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), tore most of my anterior cartilage and have a 5-8mm compression fracture to the base of my femur bone. I was operated on the next day, Friday the 13th and everything was successful. I will be on crutches for 4-6 weeks and will be back training on snow in 6 months.

I am really disappointed as I was really starting to ski consistently fast in all my recent races. However I am not deterred and will be back again. At least now my other knee that I have had troubles with will get a rest and get healthy.

Thanks for all the support and I will keep you posted as to how my rehab is going.

Below you will see the report that I was planning to post on the day of my injury. I have qualified for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and can’t wait to come back for my 2nd Olympic games.

All the best and enjoy the rest of the summer/winter

Cheers
Jono

SEASON 08/09

After a torn mcl in mid January and returning in time for the World Champs in Val D’isere ahead of schedule I was feeling that my fortune may just be turning. I managed to train just three days before heading to the World Champs but I was quite fast and surprised myself a little.

Upon arrival it was clear that all the talk of this race hill being the most difficult ever was not just rumours. The Piste De Bellevarde in Val D’isere is the most challenging run I have ever raced on. Not only is it relentlessly steep, the hill had been injected with water enough times to make it, literally like a skating rink. I started both the GS and Slalom. In the GS I made a huge mistake in the first gates and lost about a second. I finished the run in 32nd, 0.2 seconds from 30th. With only the top 30 advancing to ski the second run I was not especially pleased. The Slalom was even more difficult. The organisers decided the day before that the hill just wasn’t quite icy enough and re-injected the race piste for the Slalom four more times during the night. The course was steep, ridiculously icy and a very difficult set. With only two days of slalom training under my belt for the season I dare say I wasn’t totally prepared. I gave it everything I had however I was one of the 66% of racers that did not finish on the day. The experience of being at the World Champs was a good one as I have already missed three World Championship events due to injury and at the end of the day I was happy to have even made it there.

After the Worlds I returned to our base, Lofer, Austria, where I trained for a week before heading to Tarvisio in Italy for a Super G and Super combined race. In training I had been quick and was positive I could throw down a big result. The super combined was going very well however I made some mistakes and did not finish. The SG the next day everything was looking good. I had bib 61 however the course was in great shape and there was every chance to drop in a great result. I made some small mistakes but managed to throw down a good run and I finished in 7th place, just 0.4 seconds behind the leader. This was my best SG result ever and my second best placing in Europa Cup.

The day of the SG we drove seven hours to Megeve in France to compete in two more SG races. The entire French team were present and I started from 19th. I finished in 6th place half a second behind. With this result and the result from the day before in Tarvisio I have guaranteed my selection for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and a world ranking of approximately 80.

I took two days off after Megeve and then headed to Italy and Switzerland for four GS races. The first two days went reasonably well with my run times getting faster and faster. In the first race in Switzerland I made a few mistakes but still finished in 2nd just .07 seconds behind the winner. On the 2nd day I skied well and took my first win in 2 ½ years. My skiing is really coming together now and I look to keep my good form going all through the spring races and lower my world ranking so next years assault can start from day one.

With my Olympic qualifying and great results in SG I am extremely happy and relieved. After having so many issues with my body and injuries in the past five or six years and having to change disciplines in order to continue skiing I am really happy that I have started to succeed once again.

The following month will consist of near non stop racing at the Europa Cup finals and many National Championship series. I hope to continue my good form into the final month and bring home some great results.

I’ll let you know how it all go’s.

Cheers and enjoy.
Jono