Swedish speed woman is struggling.

“I am very sad”: This fate moves the ski world

There's actually not much going on in the ski world right now. The first training camps have started, and some stars are still on vacation. And yet an emotional story recently caused a stir.

26 May 2023

From: det

Injuries are part of skiing – unfortunately. The forces acting on an athlete are often so high that joints, ligaments and bones can no longer withstand. The good thing about it: For the vast majority of skiers, they return to the ski slopes at some point after the injury. Things are different with Lisa Hörnblad. The Swede is living a real nightmare.

Short flashback: The 27-year-old speed specialist, who has already performed several times, especially in the European Cup, suffered total knee damage during the World Cup downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo at the end of January 2022 - not the first injury of this kind for her. However, Hörnblad fought back before a real nightmare began in December last year.

The worst pain of her life

After a routine operation to clean her knee again, the Swede wanted to travel to a training camp in Italy when she suddenly experienced extreme pain in her knee at the airport. Nausea and fever also became noticeable. At the hospital, doctors finally diagnosed blood poisoning. “I thought they were going to have to amputate my leg. It felt like it was going to explode. It was the worst pain of my life,” Hörnblad said at the time.

Lisa Hörnblad wants to go back to the ski slopes. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

Fortunately, this drastic measure did not have to be taken. Despite this, Hörnblad is still struggling with the injury. The Swede tried several times to get back on the ski slopes after the blood poisoning, but her knee didn't allow her to do so. “I'm very sad about the whole thing and it feels like this hell will never end,” said the 27-year-old, whose head is already thinking about the end of her career.

One last chance

“That thought is super scary and sad. I really want to go back, but it's sad that the body wants the opposite. “I would like to give him one last chance,” said Hörnblad svt.se. The Swede finds hope with a new treatment method: the knee is supposed to be healed through autologous blood therapy. “I try to think as positively as possible,” said a combative Lisa Hörnblad.