Anna Holmlund: “Why couldn’t I die straight away?”

It's December 19, 2016, an inconspicuous, pre-Christmas Monday. In Innichen, where the Ski Cross World Cup has been stopping for years at this time, the stars complete their training runs on the short bars. Then the fateful moment comes: Anna Holmlund, 19-time World Cup winner and bronze medalist at the Olympics, falls during her run and hits her head on the hard slope. It immediately becomes clear that the situation is serious. The Swede is taken to the Bolzano hospital, where she is put into an artificial coma and operated on.

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Holmlund was in a coma for months afterwards. When she woke up from artificial deep sleep in May 2017, the doctors' predictions didn't bode well: the Swede would suffer permanent brain damage. It was unclear whether she would ever be able to walk and talk again. But Holmlund is a fighter. At the beginning she was dependent on a wheelchair, but she can now walk with the help of a cane. Even exercises in the weight room with light weights are possible. Holmlund can also speak, albeit slowly. The fight back to a normal life The 32-year-old recently appeared on a Swedish TV show. She shared emotional words - and explained that she fell into a deep hole after her accident. It was not uncommon for her to think to herself: “Why couldn’t I have died straight away?” In the meantime, however, as already mentioned, Holmlund has made great progress. Her mother Margaretha explained: “When she spoke to us again for the first time, it was so emotional. And worth so much more than an Olympic medal.”

Holmlund struggles every day to get back to normal life. She will soon take another step in this direction. “I’m going on a date,” she revealed on the TV show. With Niklas, a Swede who, like her, suffered a brain injury. “It will be nice to meet someone who understands me and knows what it's like.” Words from a true fighter.

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Anna Holmlund: “Why couldn’t I die straight away?”

Anna Holmlund was once considered one of the best ski crossers in the world. But then a serious fall in San Candido suddenly turned not only her career but her entire life upside down.

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