As of: March 1, 2024, 7:38 a.m
By: Philipp Kuserau
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Press
Split
The attractiveness of skiing is currently suffering due to the many injuries to superstars.
Olympic champion Tina Maze believes a modern phenomenon is to blame for this misery.
Munich – This World Cup season seems to be magical.
Hardly a week goes by without a ski star experiencing a bad fall or serious injury.
But how can the frequency of these accidents be explained?
The two-time Olympic champion Tina Maze now made people sit up and take notice with a strange explanation.
The list of seriously injured ski stars is long
The list of superstars seriously injured this winter includes prominent men's names such as Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Marco Schwarz and Alexis Pinturault.
Among the women, Corinne Suter, Michelle Gisin, Petra Vlhova and Mikaela Shiffrin, among others, have had it badly.
The 28-year-old American is planning her comeback in Are soon.
“In my opinion the focus is in the wrong place, not just in skiing, but in life in general.
Performance becomes less important,” claims Maze in an interview with the Swiss newspaper
NZZ
.
“We’re staring at our phones, constantly connected, emailing and messaging, and it all takes up so much valuable time.”
Ski legend Tina Maze ended her career in 2017.
© imago sports photo service
Ski legend Maze names the core problem for the numerous falls and injuries
The now 40-year-old Slovenian is considered one of the most successful skiers of all time, won the gold medal at the Olympics twice, became world champion four times and, with 2,414 points, still holds the record for points in the Ski World Cup in one season.
Maze sees the increasing importance of social media and the frequent use of smartphones as a core problem in the current injury crisis.
“We previously used this time to think about the day, for example: What was good, what can I do better?
That happens less today.
For me, that’s the main reason why so many mistakes happen, not just in sport, but also in traffic,” she explains in the
NZZ
interview.
Maze: Smartphone use “decreased my performance by 20 percent”
“Losing focus while skiing is risky.
“My performance dropped by 20 percent after I started using a smartphone,” the ski icon, who ended her career in 2017, seems to be speaking from her own experience.
“As a skier, I was very honest and strict with myself.
This is how I noticed when I wasn't at 100 percent.
For example, if it was foggy or I had watched TV for a long time the day before, read comments on social media and thought about new posts.”
(kus)