Status: 15.01.2024, 07:22 a.m.
By: Christoph Klaucke
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Thomas Dreßen can't keep up with the downhill in Wengen. An old injury has probably flared up again. The German ski star fights back tears.
Wengen – Red lantern for Germany's best downhill skier in World Cup history. But the last place at the Lauberhorn race in Wengen on Sunday quickly faded into the background for Thomas Dreßen. The ski star, who has been plagued by many serious injuries in the past, apparently suffered a setback.
Ski star Dreßen fears another injury: "Noticed that the knee is giving way again"
"Shitty" he is doing, Dreßen told BR after his last place at the classic in Wengen. The 30-year-old fought back tears. "You give it your all and I really try everything, but it's bitter when your body just doesn't play along anymore," said Dreßen, breathing heavily. "It just hurts when you see the atmosphere and the track. What a pleasure I would have to drive there..."
Dreßen fought his way to the finish, but had actually given up the race at the Kernen-S. "If you go into a corner and you more or less don't feel your knuckle, then it just sucks," he said. Already during a jump in the upper section, he "noticed that the knee was giving way again".
Ski star Thomas Dreßen fights back tears after the downhill in Wengen. © BR
Bitter setback: Germany's ski ace Dreßen close to tears
Later, it was "as if I had only been riding on a knuckle, I didn't feel my right foot." At least Dreßen was able to finish the race, in contrast to Aleksander Aamodt Kilde – the ski star had fallen badly in Wengen and was taken away by helicopter.
Dreeßen, who won five World Cup victories in the downhill in his career, had only made his comeback in Wengen a year ago after a two-year injury break. Now the setback. It is to be hoped that the knee has not suffered serious damage again. Next week, the Hahnenkamm Race will take place in Kitzbühel, where Dreßen won six years ago.
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Dreßen furious with ski organizers
Dreßen also sharply criticized the FIS. "I think that in general you have to think about what is still expedient when I think about how many races are planned," said the Garmisch about the strain on the athletes. With Alexis Pinturault and Kilde, two top stars are out for a long time after heavy crashes in Wengen.
He "doesn't have the feeling that we don't have enough races. The opposite is more likely to be the case," said Dreßen. If, as in Wengen and next week in Kitzbühel, cancelled races elsewhere are also added to the programme, the classics would also be devalued. After the injury drama in Wengen, the ZDF commentator and expert Büchel, who are raging with rage, are blowing the same horn. (ck/sid)