Not there tomorrow?

Kriechmayr: pain in his knee after stress test

Vincent Kriechmayr(Bild: GEPA)

Vincent Kriechmayr, who injured his right knee, made a successful comeback in the first downhill training session of the 2025 World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Wednesday and finished second. Immediately after training, Kriechmayr admitted that he felt pain and his gait didn't seem smooth. "Right now, I'll have to think about whether I'll be at the start tomorrow," he said. 

"My goal was to push hard. Of course, I didn't ski a lot of things perfectly, but it's an advantage when you know the course," said the double World Champion from Cortina 2021. "After today, I'm in good spirits that it will work under pressure."

Vincent Kriechmayr(Bild: AP/APA/BARBARA GINDL)

Immediately after training, Kriechmayr admitted that he felt pain and his gait didn't seem smooth. "Right now, I'll have to think about whether I'll be at the start tomorrow," he said. With the right therapy, however, "I might be able to fix my knee by tomorrow so that I can train again". His start in the super-G on Friday is not in danger, he said when asked. On Sunday (11.30 a.m./LIVEin the sportkrone.at ticker), the Upper Austrian then has the special downhill on the program.

Vincent Kriechmayr(Bild: APA/BARBARA GINDL)

Inner ligament strain in his right knee
His current feeling in his knee is "one hundred and one" compared to Kitzbühel. He had already noticed in training on Tuesday that he was "almost back to 90 to 100 percent". "I'm happy that I'm back, that I was able to put full weight on my knee today."

Kriechmayr had pulled a ligament in his knee during his crash in the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen. "I was very happy, it was just the inner ligament that was a bit offended. Compared to many of my colleagues who have unfortunately had major injuries, it's nothing," said the 33-year-old.

Kitzbühel start attempt "naturally naive"in hindsight
In Kitzbühel, six days after the injury, he decided against competing in the super-G. "In hindsight, it was of course naive. But I felt really good the day before. I was also able to do a lot during dry training," Kriechmayr reflected on his thoughts about a possible start. "I would have tried everything to get myself fit. You're always smarter with hindsight. But sitting at home and thinking that it might have been possible - I definitely didn't want to get into that situation."

Over the past two and a half weeks, he has had to learn to be patient. "I thought I was a patient person, but apparently I was far from patient," Kriechmayr emphasized.