Medal after a fall

News from sister spurs silver hero on

One day after Ricarda Haaser's (right) serious crash, her brother Raphael celebrates his silver medal.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

One day after his sister Ricarda suffered a serious knee injury, Raphael Haaser presented himself with a World Championship medal. A WhatsApp message inspired our silver hero. 

"Of course it wasn't easy yesterday," admitted Haaser in view of the rollercoaster ride of emotions. "But I managed quite well to put that to one side and concentrate. Of course, part of the medal also belongs to my sister. She sent me a WhatsApp that night to tell me to step on the gas."

One day after Ricarda Haaser's (right) serious crash, her brother Raphael celebrates his silver medal.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Race against the clock
The ÖSV coaches recalled Haaser's race against time. His start at the World Championships had been shaky until Kitzbühel due to a strained cruciate ligament. In Kitz, however, he skied straight to second place in the super-G - his fourth World Cup podium finish (always second).

"A lot of people did something right, all the physiotherapy," said speed group coach Sepp Brunner. "Cool thing for Raphi, who got fit at the last moment, qualified and then won the medal," said head coach Marko Pfeifer. "He also correctly classified Ricarda's injury, seemed relaxed in the morning and simply made it happen."

Ice-cold "mega skier"
 His team-mates also rave about the 27-year-old. "He's the Iceman for us, he showed that again," said Vincent Kriechmayr and Lukas Feurstein also took a verbal bow. "He's simply ice-cold, everything around him leaves him so cold, he does it brilliantly. He puts everything he's got into it. You know he's a mega skier."