“I was close to getting blood poisoning”-Mikaela Shiffrin's financé Alexander Kilde opens up about major health scare post devastating crash in Wengen

Mikaela Shiffrin's financé Alexander Kilde was the victim of a terrible crash while skiing downhill in Wengen, Switzerland earlier this year in January. Kilde has been vocal about the progress of his injuries with fans, and recently opened up about how he almost got blood poisoning as a result of his injuries.

Kilde finished second in the overall world cup in 2022 and 2023, and was having a strong season before his accident. He had claimed five podium finishes in 2024 before his injuries put an end to his campaign. The Norwegian's crash in Wengen saw him collide into the nets at a speed of 120 KMPH, resulting in a dislocated shoulder, two torn shoulder ligaments, and a severe laceration on his calf, alongside other minor injuries.

Now, in an interview with Der Standard, Kilde stated that it was his shoulder that was troubling him the most, saying (translated from German):

“Two muscles, including the infraspinatus muscle on the back of the shoulder, are still loose, meaning they are not connected to the bone. This means that I have severe limitations in my shoulder. Infections in the shoulder bone have destroyed the connection to the muscle. The infection started to corrode the bone. I have to wait until the infection has gone before I can have another operation. I'm doing everything I can to make sure that happens soon. It could have been much worse.”

When asked how things could have been worse, Alexander Kilde opened up about his scare with blood poisoning, saying:

“I was close to getting blood poisoning. You definitely don't want to get that, it could have been life-threatening.”

Mikaela Shiffrin opens up about watching Alexander Kilde deal with his injuries

Mikaela Shiffrin on watching Alexander Kilde recover (Image Source: Getty)

While Mikaela Shiffrin was busy with her own skiing season when Kilde rammed into the nets in Wengen, the American quickly flew to Switzerland to be by her boyfriend’s side as he woke up from surgery. She would fly out only a day later to Austria for her slalom race.

In a recent interview with Olympics.com, Shiffrin opened up about watching Alexander Kilde deal with his injuries, calling him ‘incredible', saying,

“He’s an incredible person. When he wakes up from surgery and he's sick from the medication, and he has every reason to be angry and mean, he's still nice and he's still kind, and he's still thankful to everybody around him. His attitude and who he is, it made it easier to take care of him, for the people around him. And I think it gave all of us hope that things are going to be okay.”

A couple of weeks after Kilde's accident, Mikaela Shiffrin herself crashed while racing the downhill at Cortina d'Ampezzo Italy. The American was out of action for six weeks, but was able to return for the final race of the season. She is now competing in the 2025 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup season.