Saslong shock: Austria loses another downhill skier

Tough times for Austria's downhill team. After Stefan Eichberger suffered a serious knee injury in the first training run in Val Gardena, the red-white-red ski nation has to do without another speed specialist.

18 December 2025

From: cst

The diagnosis was a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus. A bitter diagnosis for Stefan Eichberger, who had taken a blow during training on Tuesday at the camel hump section. The same spot also proved disastrous for Felix Hacker during the same training session.

Unlike Eichberger, the Carinthian was able to finish his training run, but the pain subsequently worsened. Hacker stated in a Ski Austria press release that he immediately noticed something was wrong: "After landing, I had a bad feeling. At first, I thought it wasn't too bad. That's why I still skied to the finish line." However, because the pain intensified overnight into Wednesday, an MRI scan was performed on Thursday in St. Ulrich. The result: a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Just back from cruciate ligament tear

For Hacker, the diagnosis is doubly painful. The 26-year-old has just returned from a torn cruciate ligament, which he suffered in Kitzbühel in January. Last week, he won a European Cup Super-G in Santa Caterina. Hacker was supposed to make his World Cup comeback in Val Gardena. Now, with yet another injury, he is out indefinitely. Hacker: "The diagnosis is, of course, extremely bitter."