Slalom Olympic champion Petra Vlhova wants to achieve a big goal after a long period of suffering – and declares it crazy herself.
Slalom Olympic champion Petra Vlhova hopes for a comeback at the upcoming Winter Games two years after her cruciate ligament tear.
“It may sound a little crazy at the moment, but even though there is little time left until the Olympic Games, I have decided to fight for the chance to participate,” the 30-year-old Slovak announced on social media.
Petra Vlhova wants to qualify for the Olympic Games
The overall World Cup winner from 2021 will only decide about a start in the slalom on February 18, 48 hours before hand.
Olympic champion suffers: “I had no life left”
Vlhova had injured herself on January 20, 2024, at her home race in Jasna, followed by another operation in March 2025. Due to cartilage damage, recovery had not progressed as planned. A circumstance that heavily burdened the overall World Cup winner from 2021.
“I had no life left. I couldn’t do anything anymore, not run, not cycle, not ski,” she reported after the second operation.
Now Vlhova, Giant Slalom World Champion in 2019, joyfully announced “wonderful news.” “I have just completed a medical check-up. Based on the results, my medical team and physiotherapists have classified me as 100 percent healthy. So I can ski again with full intensity,” explained the winner of a total of six World Championship medals. Her last of 31 World Cup victories was in January 2024 in Kranjska Gora.