Alessandro Hämmerle has had a curious career path. © Alessandro Hämmerle / Social Media

With the help of AI: How an Olympic champion had to learn to walk again

Four years ago, Alessandro Hämmerle was crowned Olympic champion at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. However, whether the Vorarlberg native could also compete at the top in Livigno was anything but a given – after all, he had to learn to walk all over again.

February 08, 2026

From: apa

His back was bothering him, and top medical professionals were stumped. So what to do? "AI is more patient than a doctor; you can ask it anything and discuss it at length," said Alessandro "Izzi" Hämmerle, the 2022 Olympic champion in snowboard cross. "I went through various movement patterns, looked at the body's anatomy, and actually solved some problems with ChatGPT." The one missing piece of the puzzle was eventually found.

"The back problems mainly originated in my foot; my gait was crooked," Hämmerle explained to the WATERHämmerle, 1,90 meters tall and weighing 100 kilos, spent too much time standing on the outside of his foot and on his heel, causing his knee and hip to rotate outwards and his pelvis to tilt downwards. Eventually, this became too much for the back of the Vorarlberg native, who also suffers from a congenital spondylolisthesis. "I practically had to relearn how to walk at over 30 years old."

Hämmerle: "It was really strange"

Since then, the 32-year-old has been trying to put more weight on the ball of his right big toe, especially in everyday life. "It was really strange; my whole body was set up for the old pattern. It's still work, but we're out of the pain pattern."

"Professional sport has been fun again since spring. I can train fully again, which I haven't been able to do for the last three or four years." Alessandro Hammerle

For someone whose body is his greatest asset, this is a true liberation – especially since his ordeal had begun earlier. For months, he suffered from headaches following a severe concussion. "Professional sports have been fun again since spring. I can train fully again, something I couldn't do for the last three or four years. My body is in better shape than it was a few years ago," Hämmerle reported, beaming with joy.

"I want to do that again."

He is therefore looking forward to the Winter Games in Italy with great confidence. "I'm so happy with my snowboarding right now. If I have a good day, I don't have to hide from anyone," said the three-time overall Snowboard Cross World Cup winner. The gold medal he won four years ago at the Corona Games in China brought him recognition and opened many doors. "It was an immense boost in terms of personal branding – especially in terms of broad visibility. Here in Vorarlberg, you can definitely tell that something special has been achieved."

Alessandro Hämmerle won gold in Beijing four years ago. © ANSA / MAXIM SHIPENKOV

For the upcoming major event, in which Hämmerle will compete in the individual race (February 12th) and possibly in the mixed team event (February 15th), he had planned to "take it all with more enjoyment." Or so he thought. "But now I'm tense again – and ideally want to repeat the feat. I've set everything up the same way as last time; I'm very well prepared." He's well aware that in snowboard cross, in the head-to-head battle, not everything always depends on one's own performance.