Bad news

Cancer drama for Swiss downhill skier Hintermann

Swiss downhill skier Niels Hintermann has been diagnosed with lymph node cancer and will not be competing in any ski races next season. He received the serious diagnosis last Tuesday during standard examinations, said Hintermann at a media appointment in a Zurich clinic.

The disease is at an early stage and he now has two cycles of chemotherapy and probably two weeks of radiotherapy ahead of him.

Doctors are confident
"That alone will take three months. The season is over," said Hintermann, looking ahead to a difficult time. However, the doctors are confident - not only about the healing process, but also about the continuation of his career as a ski racer. "The chances of recovery are very good. It is very well under control, although it is a rare type of cancer," said Hintermann about a disease that Austria's team player Stefan Lainer, for example, has also recently successfully battled.

The 29-year-old Hintermann didn't really get going last season, but won the downhill in Kvitfjell at the end of the season - his third triumph in the World Cup.