Season’s Over For World Cup Champ

Slalom champ Kalle Palander will miss most — perhaps all — of this race season after a flare-up of the stress fracture that sidelined him for most of last season had to be fixed with extreme surgery. The Finnish World Cup racer, the first-ever from his country, has dominated in slalom for ten years, winning the World Champion title in 1999 and the 2003 World Cup slalom title. Shortly after he won a World Cup race last December, unbearable shin pain sent Palander to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a severe stress fracture. When it didn’t heal by February, the three-time Olympian had surgery and missed all of the 2008 World Cup.

He was on track to come back, training in South America in September with the rest of the World Cup field, when he tweaked the shin again, whanging it against his boot top. Pallander gave it some rest, then went to train in Soelden, Austria, for the first World Cup of the season.

But when he put on his customized ski boots, his shin began hurting so severely that Palander said, “I did not even bother to try to get to the slopes.”

Diagnosis: the fracture had moved, despite a titanium plate that was used to stabilize it during last year’s surgery. On October 16, Palander had a more invasive, intensive surgery (stop reading now if you have a weak stomach).

A steel rod was inserted into the bone marrow cavity of his tibia, the bigger of the two bones in the lower leg. It went down the length of the bone, from his knee to his ankle. Since the slalom star has had constant knee problems during his long career, many World Cup fans believe he’s done. But Palander intends to fight on. He says, “The Olympic Games are a year and a half away. I intend to be the one to beat in Vancouver.”

A weight-bearing bone needs at least nine months to heal from a serious fracture, and stress fractures are notoriously slow to heal. Palander insists he’s not washed up. At a press conference to announce his upcoming surgery, Palander said, “My career is far from over. And when I do come back it will surely be noticed.”

You can read more about Palander’s road to recovery on his blog.

by Wina Sturgeon
AdventureSportsWeekly.com

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