What happened to Petra Vlhova? All about the Olympic Champion's return in the upcoming Alpine skiing season

Petra Vlhova, the Slovakian skier who has been an arch-rival of Mikaela Shiffrin in the slalom and giant slalom events, will miss the first two women's races of the 2024/25 Alpine Skiing World Cup season. She has not confirmed her participation in the third, fourth, or fifth race either.

Vlhova suffered a harrowing injury in a giant slalom race in January this year, during the 2023/24 Alpine Skiing World Cup season. The Olympic slalom gold medalist lost balance while taking a turn left and tried to avoid a fall. However, she fell sideways and crashed into the safety net. She was later transported off the hill on a sled. Though the 28-year-old received treatment on the spot, she suffered torn ligaments, as confirmed after several medical examinations.

Having won three races before the setback, the 2021 World Cup overall winner was forced to miss the rest of the 2023/24 season In February 2024, Vlhova underwent knee surgery to address the ligament injury. Though she returned to skiing at the Swiss resort of Zermatt in August, the Slovak confirmed that she wouldn't compete in the first two races in the 2024/25 Alpine Skiing World Cup season.

The 31-time World Cup winner's participation in the third, fourth, and fifth races, as shared by her representative, is "not probable."

Petra Vlhova's team said (via NBC),

“Over the next six weeks, until the end of November, she’ll be working on her physical condition."

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Petra Vlhova - "I need to be 100% sure, I won’t compete just to ski down the hill"

Petra Vlhova at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Giant Slalom - Source: Getty

During the upcoming season, Petra Vlhova wishes to prioritize her health and not ski for the sake of it. In an interview, she talked about regaining her strength as she wouldn't race if not 100% confident on the slopes.

Vlhova said (via NBC),

"It’s more about how I feel on the skis. I need to be 100% sure. I won’t compete just to ski down the hill. I need to regain my strength, and then hopefully it will go the way I envision."

She added,

"I’m listening to my body more than ever before. I have to accept when my knee says no. It dictates my schedule and training time. There were days when I came to the slope and just said no. That happens too. I’m getting to know my feelings and I know that it’s OK even when it’s not really OK."

The giant slalom specialist added the gold in her forte event at the 2019 World Championships. Her World Cup overall title win in 2021 and Olympic gold at the 2014 Winter Games made her the first Slovak skier with such achievements.