American skier Nina O'Brien ready for another comeback after breaking left leg twice

SOELDEN, Austria -- Nina O’Brien’s rollercoaster skis profession complete nan past 3 seasons includes a golden badge astatine nan 2023 world championships and breaking her near little limb twice.

This weekend, nan American starts yet different comeback season.

“In truthful galore ways it’s uncomfortable and nerve-racking, but connected different manus it’s acquainted and it feels for illustration my world and my family. Physically I consciousness ready, mentally I’m ready, and I’m excited to beryllium here,” O’Brien said connected nan eve of Saturday’s World Cup opener successful Austria, her first top-level title successful much than 19 months.

Born successful San Francisco and grown up skiing successful Palisades Tahoe and Burke Mountain, O'Brien has been racing connected nan World Cup circuit since 2016.

Mishap struck for nan first clip successful February 2022, erstwhile she severely crashed adjacent nan decorativeness of her first Olympic race, nan elephantine slalom astatine nan Beijing Games. A gruesome compound fracture near her bony protruding from her limb and O’Brien needed 4 surgeries.

“When I came backmost from my wounded successful Beijing, I retrieve for illustration having initially immoderate bully results and past struggling and emotion for illustration that struggle was really much painful,” O’Brien said.

“When I went done this dip, it really wounded my heart. And so, conscionable knowing that benignant of return to racing and to highest capacity isn’t ever linear is thing that I’m alert of now.”

O’Brien recovered her measurement backmost again and teamed pinch Paula Moltzan, Tommy Ford and River Radamus to triumph win nan squad event astatine nan 2023 worlds successful France.

“That mediate play of nan play wherever I was struggling, I really did travel retired of it. And towards nan extremity of nan season, I was skiing immoderate of nan champion GS that I ever have,” she said.

O’Brien had not overmuch clip to build connected that. During training campy successful New Zealand successful nan 2023 offseason, she collapsed her limb again. This time, though, her betterment play went notably faster than nan twelvemonth before, and 5 months later, successful early 2024, she was backmost connected snowfall for immoderate free skiing.

O’Brien shared her rehab clip pinch 2 of her closest friends connected nan U.S. team, Ava Sunshine Jemison and Katie Hensien, who were besides retired for nan play pinch injuries.

“It was really bully to conscionable subordinate connected what we were emotion arsenic nan races were happening and we weren’t there,” O’Brien said. “And past astatine nan aforesaid clip besides being capable to hide astir skis racing pinch them and laughter astatine each different and not consciousness sorry for each different because we were each successful it together. That helped a lot, too.”

Getting fresh for racing again during 2023-24 was not a realistic option, but her early return connected snowfall allowed O’Brien to gradually build toward nan caller season.

“I’m ever personification who wants to do nan astir training runs. If I person 5 bully runs, for maine I want to spot if my sixth tin beryllium faster. But this summertime I really tried to return a different approach,” O’Brien said.

Training initially was much astir regaining a bully emotion connected nan skis, she added, alternatively than pushing for nan fastest times.

Paul Kristofic, coach of nan U.S. women’s team, was impressed pinch O’Brien’s betterment advancement and affirmative attitude.

“What she went done was incredibly difficult. One sadistic injury, and past a reinjury of nan aforesaid leg, past it’s incredibly reliable to miss truthful overmuch racing and training.” Kristofic said.

“She’s had a awesome mentation play and is skiing well. She is ace excited to get started again and she feels great. I’m really happy for her, because it hasn’t been easy.”

Missing a full play has seen O’Brien driblet successful nan GS rankings, and she will deterioration bib No. 28 connected Saturday.

It will beryllium a situation moving her measurement backmost up nan rankings but O’Brien is convinced she can.

And if she does, a bully prize would await astatine nan extremity of nan season: The World Cup finals successful Sun Valley, Idaho.

“I perfectly emotion it. I’m excited conscionable for each of america to stock it pinch nan full European skis racing community. It’s conscionable this really authentic skis municipality successful nan U.S. and it’s conscionable culturally cool, feels very western," she said. "They person truthful overmuch passion for skiing.”

Just for illustration O'Brien.

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Eric Willemsen connected X: https://x.com/eWilmedia

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing