This time an Austrian: Another nasty crash on the Stelvio.

On Wednesday, Norwegian Frederik Möller was involved in an accident, and on Thursday another top rider, Daniel Hemetsberger, crashed during training on the Stelvio.

February 05, 2026

From: cst/apa

Daniel Hemetsberger crashed during the second training run for the Olympic downhill in Bormio on Thursday. The 34-year-old lost control after a slight jump, twisted, touched a gate pole, lost his helmet, and then crashed into the safety netting.

The Upper Austrian was lucky in his misfortune, however, and was able to ski to the finish line himself. "Nothing serious should have happened," the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) athlete reassured everyone at the finish.

"Thank God I wasn't away, I witnessed the whole crash live, I know everything," said Hemetsberger. The impact at high speed into the gate was "horrible." "It really threw my head back." Losing your helmet in a crash like that can happen. "I don't care, I'm not criticizing anyone for that." For the first time in his career, his airbag deployed. "I never wanted that to happen, but it worked out. It twisted my right foot a bit, but it wasn't a problem on the way down and I was able to put my foot back on it," said Hemetsberger. "It's the broken one anyway."

Hemetsberger lost his helmet in the fall. © ANSA / ANNA SZILAGYI

Other problems arose as well. He complained of "a slight headache" and hoped that "the swelling around my eye would go away, because I can't see very well at the moment." He was furious about the fall. "I did the same stupid thing as in Kitzbühel. You can make a mistake once, but not twice. Then you're an idiot, and that really annoys me."

Keywords Winter sports Alpine skiing Bormio Olympics 2026 Daniel Hemetsberger