TARVISIO, Italy-
Austrian skier Renate Goetschl, who is second in the overall World Cup standings, crashed in downhill training Thursday and slightly injured both knees.
Goetschl lost control midway through her run and slid down the slope, with her right ski dragging behind her.
Austria women’s head coach Herbert Mandl said Goetschl had a slight injury to her right knee and damaged cartilage in her left knee.
“At the moment it hurts a lot, but it doesn’t feel like something major,” Goetschl said, grasping her knee and walking gingerly with her weight placed on her ski poles. “It was my own fault. I lost control over my skis.”
She was training for three days of racing this weekend in Tarvisio—a super-combi on Friday, a downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.
Goetschl, with 1,019 points, is 33 points behind teammate Marlies Schild in the overall standings with 10 races left this season. Nicole Hosp of Austria is third with 989 and American Julia Mancuso is fourth with 959.
Goetschl, who already has clinched the super-giant slalom crown, also has a chance to clinch the season’s downhill title Saturday. She has a 134-point lead over Mancuso with only one more downhill remaining after this weekend.
“The main thing is the downhill globe (trophy). I have to focus on that,” she said.
The 31-year-old Goetschl has won six races this season—three super-G’s and three downhills. She won the overall title in 2000.
Goetschl injured her right knee in Cortina last year before the Olympics, and had surgery after the Turin Games.
