Ski Club Vail’s Lindsey Kildow has decided to end her season a month early rather than risk more damage to her injured right knee.
Kildow, who won two silver medals at the world alpine championships this month, partially tore her anterior cruciate ligament in a freak accident during slalom training a week ago. Initially she planned on returning for the World Cup finals in four weeks, because the injury did not require surgery, but she changed her mind after being examined Wednesday by Dr. Christian Fink in Austria.
“He was straight with me and said if I really wanted to, I could race again, but he told me the risk of (completely) tearing my ACL was high,” Kildow said. “I don’t want that.”
Kildow is second in the World Cup super-G standings, third in downhill and fifth overall. Two races remain in the super-G and downhill, meaning Kildow would have had a chance to claim both titles had she continued.
“I’m very disappointed because everything had been going so well this season, and it feels OK when I’m walking around,” Kildow said. “But pushing myself 80 mph on sections of a downhill is very different, and this is definitely the right decision.”
