Injured former World Cup snowboarding champion far from finished
In June, Helene Olafsen’s worst nightmare came true when she tore her ACL in training with the snowboard team. In a new interview with NRK, she says she is definitely not finished snowboarding.
“I heard it tear, and saw that my leg went out of position. I lay on the ground and screamed and screamed and screamed. Then I thought, ‘Now I am done.’ I was very sad. It was my worst nightmare to tear my ACL,” said Olafsen.
Thus all her expectations went into the dirt for the second time in less than a year.
In January, she broke her foot and was unable to defend her World Cup gold in boardercross. In June, she had to watch the 2011 World Cup from home.
And while the snowboarding team has recently travelled to the U.S. to begin training for what will surely be a season with many triumphs, Olafsen must stay home in Norway and do some alternate exercises.
“I try to follow a little bit along with what the others are doing, but not much. I try simply to not look at all the fun they will experience,” said Olafsen.
Olafsen is one Norway’s most talented snowboarders, and in 2009 she became a World Champion in boardercross. She also won the silver in the X-Games (2009), and came in fourth in the 2010 Olympics.
“Being in Norway while we went to the U.S. is tough and hard. Not everyone would have managed to get through such an injury nightmare,” said Olafsen’s coach, Per Iver Grimsrud.
“It was pretty awful at first. I did not do so well. But it’s a process. Suddenly, I am excited again. This is what I will continue doing. I’m definitely not finished,” says the former World Cup winner.
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