Olympics in doubt for Swiss ski star Gut-Behrami after knee injury in training

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BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Ski star Lara Gut-Behrami has suffered a potentially career-ending left knee injury during training in the United States.

The 34-year-old Olympic champion in super-G and two-time overall World Cup winner has targeted the Winter Games in February in what she has said is her last season before retiring.

Gut-Behrami is returning to Switzerland for medical examinations after falling in super-G training on Thursday at Copper Mountain in Colorado, the Swiss ski federation said in a statement on Friday.

The federation did not elaborate on the injury but Swiss daily Blick reported a suspected ACL tear for the three-time Olympic medalist. Recovery from an ACL tear can take six to 12 months.

Gut-Behrami tore her left ACL at the 2017 world championships on Swiss snow in St. Moritz when she crashed in warmups for the slalom run in the combined event after placing third in the downhill that morning.

She was due to compete at her fourth Olympics this February, when women’s Alpine skiing races will be held at Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy. She missed the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games because of a serious hip injury.

Four of Gut-Behrami's 48 career World Cup race wins have been at Cortina's picture postcard course in the Dolomites mountains. She also took gold there in super-G and giant slalom at the 2021 worlds, plus bronze in downhill.

She started this season with a third-place finish in a giant slalom last month at Soelden, Austria.

Gut-Behrami has said she intends to retire and move to England where her husband, former Switzerland midfielder Valon Behrami, works in the front office at second-tier club Watford where he used to play.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics