Lone skier is seriously injured. © AFP / FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT

The ski circus loses its famous exotic

“My dreams have to wait another year”: These are the emotional words of a famous skier who has to end his season before it has even begun.

07 December 2023

From: det

Last winter, Henrik von Appen was one of the secret winners of the season. At the age of 28, the Chilean made it to the World Cup points – and thus to the top of the world – for the first time. He finished in the top 30 five times and came 14th once - that's the best result of his entire career. This year, von Appen wanted to make the final breakthrough, but that won't happen.

The speed specialist seriously injured his knee during downhill training at Beaver Creek and will be out for the rest of the season with a torn cruciate ligament. “I am very frustrated,” writes von Appen on social media. “I have never had such speed in my career as I am currently. I wanted to implement them in every World Cup race. We worked very hard as a team and I know many Chileans would have been happy to see a compatriot at the top of the white sport,” said the South American.

Von Appen ended up in the nets during Beaver Creek practice. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / CHRISTIAN PETERSEN

“My dreams,” said an emotional von Appen, “have to wait another year. But I’ve managed to get out of situations like this in the past.”

A lone fighter with many friends

This means that the ski circus has to do without one of its famous exotics. Von Appen is a lone fighter from Chile, the only World Cup rider from his country. Despite numerous adversities (including having to partially finance himself), he persevered for years and reaped the fruits of his work last season with his first strong results. Furthermore, his friendly nature makes him extremely popular in the ski scene. In the fall, when the ski stars travel to South America for training purposes, von Appen sometimes invited some of his colleagues in his native Chile to dinner.