Simon Maurberger, the darned knee and a special hobby

Simon Maurberger is now quite familiar with flights of fancy. In July of this year, the Ahrntaler successfully passed the paragliding test and has been pursuing his new passion with the special thrill whenever possible ever since. He not only experienced flights of fancy in the air, but also on the ski slopes. More precisely, in the 2019/20 season and - if you want to express it exactly - on January 28th, 2020, when he took the pitch in front of thousands of roaring fans (yes, there was no sign of Corona back then) on the legendary Planai in Schladming 5 and has thus reached his provisional career peak.

Simon Maurberger on the Planai - and on the way to his best career result, namely 5th place. © APA / ERWIN SCHERIAU

But flights of fancy and crash landings are as close together in alpine skiing as hardly anywhere else. And so 12 days later, after a parallel giant slalom in the French Alpine village of Chamonix, Maurberger found himself on the hospital bed with a torn cruciate ligament. This event was now almost a year and a half ago, but the after-effects of the Ahrntaler's career were felt for a very long time. Although he was quickly back on skis after tearing his cruciate ligament and also competed in a few World Cup races last winter, his right knee continued to cause so many problems that he had to end the season early. The injections didn't help either “Shortly before the start of the season, my knee kept hurting,” reflects the 26-year-old. “It finally turned out that the meniscus was a bit broken. I still tried to drive with sprays, but at some point I couldn’t do it anymore,” regrets the technology specialist. At the beginning of February, Maurberger had to go under the knife again, where the broken piece of meniscus was removed. “Actually, I should have stopped the season straight away. So it didn’t make much sense.” Simon Maurberger When he thinks back on it today, he also feels a bit angry. “Actually, I should have stopped the season straight away. So it didn't make much sense.” So while his teammates competed in the season finale including the World Championship, Maurberger once again had to do hard rehabilitation work. “This year I was a little less strict on myself than last year. Because the only thing that helps is patience,” says the Puster native, who covered several kilometers, especially on his bike. He's currently on a cycling holiday with his girlfriend - "that's two in one," the likeable skier has to smile.

The rehab paid off because he is now 100 percent physically fit again. “At the end of July I trained with the team on skis and was able to do everything. I have a much better feeling than last year,” said Maurberger, who has two goals in mind: “I want to be there at the start of the season in Sölden. And of course the Olympic Games are also a goal. But what’s important is that I can ski pain-free again.” On the move at dizzy heights Looking back, the ski-free time in spring also had something good. Because – as already mentioned at the beginning – the 26-year-old has discovered a new hobby for himself. “Some of my colleagues are passionate paragliders. That's why they told me that this could be something for me too. So I started it in April and I have to say, it’s really cool,” Maurberger is already enthusiastic about his new passion.

“When we went to the training camp in the summer, I always took my paraglider with me, and when I got a chance, I took a flight,” said the Ahrntal native, who added: “I took a course for a good three and a half months and then an exam. “I had to learn a lot,” he smiles. Maurberger is ready for new heights – in the air, but also on the ski slopes.

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Simon Maurberger, the darned knee and a special hobby

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