Norwegian Aamodt May Miss 2004 World Cup
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OSLO, Norway, Jan. 14, 2004 (AP) — Olympic and world champion Alpine skier Kjetil Andre Aamodt is worried a broken ankle might ruin his 2004 World Cup season.
Aamodt carefully tested the ankle with a gentle run on skis for the first time since getting hurt in October and complained of severe pain.
“It’s unbelievably painful. It was hopeless to ski,” he told state radio network NTK in Oslo. “The most important thing now is to be free of pain, and aim for next year.”
The 32-year-old Aamodt has the all-time record in Alpine medals for both the World Championships (12) and Olympics (seven).
He broke his ankle and tore ligaments Oct. 22 while training in Austria, and underwent surgery at the Innsbruck University clinic.
Aamodt said the pain is still intense but still plans to compete.
“The way I feel the pain now can make me a little uncertain but there has been progress the whole time. I am going to come back for certain. It’s just taking more time than I had hoped,” he said.
He was third in the overall World Cup rankings at the end of last season. He won two gold medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press