SALZBURG, Austria (AP) — Ski great Marcel Hirscher’s comeback season after five years away from the sport is over when it had barely begun.
The Austrian star tore the ACL in his left knee “during a harmless slip” while training in giant slalom, he posted on his official website on Tuesday.
“As is unfortunately the case with skiing: part of the game. Maybe I’m finally done with my journey,” said the 35-year-old Hirscher, who had surgery on Monday evening.
Hirscher returned to race this season for the first time since winning a record eighth straight overall World Cup title in March 2019. In three races his best result was 23rd in the season-opening giant slalom at Sölden, Austria.
“The second run was maybe one of the most emotional moments in my career," Hirscher said after racing on Oct. 27.
The two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion is the latest ski superstar sidelined by injury.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who succeeded Hirscher as the men’s overall champion in 2020, is missing the whole season with ongoing issues in his recovery from a hard crash in January at the finish of a downhill in Wengen, Switzerland.
Mikaela Shiffrin, the five-time women’s overall champion, was injured crashing on Saturday when in sight of her record-extending 100th World Cup win in a giant slalom at Killington, Vermont.
Hirscher is not the only ski great making a comeback after stopping five years ago.
Lindsey Vonn, at age 40, is preparing to return in the weeks ahead in the speed races of downhill and super-G she used to dominate.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Netherland's Marcel Hirscher starts an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Netherland's Marcel Hirscher speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Gurgl, Austria, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Many tourists in Seoul seemed largely unfazed by the political turmoil unfolding in the capital as they flocked Wednesday to the city’s largest palace, local landmarks and shopping streets.
Some awoke to worried text messages from friends and family, who heard the news about President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning martial law declaration Tuesday night. Yoon abruptly imposed emergency martial law, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces after he struggled to push forward his agenda in the opposition-dominated parliament.
But his martial law was effective for only about six hours, as the National Assembly voted to overrule the president. With the declaration formally lifted, tourists ventured from their hotels.
Early Wednesday at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest of royal palaces, tourists wore traditional clothing rented from nearby shops as they posed for photos.
Emma Basnawi, visiting from Indonesia, said she thought “something big might happen” when she heard about the martial law declaration, and was a little concerned. But riots and protests aren’t unusual back at home in Jakarta so she planned to stick to her itinerary as much as possible, she said.
Walking toward the palace with a tour group, Stephen Rowan, of Brisbane, Australia, said he wasn’t worried. He had asked a friend from South Korea to help him understand what was happening.
“I would have been concerned if martial law had stayed enforced,” he said.
Early Wednesday morning, police with shields arrived in the palace area, known historically as a popular protest site. But other than that, it seemed like a normal cold Seoul December morning.
Not far from the palace, tour groups wandered through the Bukchon Hanok Village, taking photos of the residential neighborhood and its many restored traditional houses.
Elisabetta Munari, on vacation from Milan, Italy, took a morning hike to Seoul Tower on the summit of Namsan Mountain, to see the views of the city. She had a week off from work and is traveling alone for the first time.
“A lot of people from Italy wrote to me during the night when I was sleeping,” she said. “But everyone here has gone to school and to work today. Of course, I’m not going to the city center, but still I’m around. I don’t think the situation is critical.”
The commercial Insadong and Myeongdong shopping streets were teeming with people, too. Geff Johnson, from Sydney, Australia, looked at the art for sale on the main street of Insadong with friends. He said their tour was canceled that day to the demilitarized zone, the swath of land between North and South Korea, because of the martial law declaration.
Johnson said he felt at ease because he had seen many police officers around in Seoul and so many locals and tourists were out shopping.
For the time being, he said, things seem safe.
Tourists wander taking photos of the residential neighborhood and its many restored traditional houses in the Bukchon Hanok Village, in Seoul, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/ Jennifer McDermott)
Tourists watch the rehearsal for the royal guard changing ceremony at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, in Seoul, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/ Jennifer McDermott)
Tourists wander taking photos of the residential neighborhood and its many restored traditional houses in the Bukchon Hanok Village, in Seoul, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/ Jennifer McDermott)
Visitors wearing South Korean traditional costume "Hanbok" was in front of the Gwanghwamun, the main gate of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace, one of South Korea's well known landmarks, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Jessica Hernandez, third from right, from the U.S. takes a photo near the Gwanghwamun, the main gate of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace, one of South Korea's well known landmarks, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Tourists wearing traditional clothing rented from nearby shops pose for photos at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, in Seoul, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/ Jennifer McDermott)
