Daniel Albrecht

Daniel Albrecht
— Alpine skier —
Disciplines Downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom, combined
Club Fiesch Eggishorn
Born 25 May 1983
Fiesch, Valais, Switzerland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
World Cup debut 23 January 2003 (age 19)
Website Daniel-Albrecht.ch
Olympics
Teams 1 – (2006)
Medals 0
World Championships
Teams 3 – (2003, 2005, 2007)
Medals 3 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons 7 – (2005–09, 2011–12)
Wins 4 – (3 GS, 1 SC)
Podiums 8 – (1 DH, 4 GS, 1 SL, 2 SC)
Overall titles 0 – (7th in 2008)
Discipline titles 0 – (3rd in K, 2008)

Daniel Albrecht (born 25 May 1983) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. He was a world champion in super combined in 2007, but was severely injured in a training run in 2009.

Racing career

Born in Fiesch in the canton of Valais, Albrecht made his World Cup debut at age 19 in January 2003 in a slalom at Schladming, Austria. A few weeks later, he competed in the slalom at the 2003 World Championships at St. Moritz. That March, he won three gold medals and a silver at the Junior World Championships at Serre Chevalier, France.

At the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden, Albrecht won the gold medal in the super combined event, and took the silver medal in the giant slalom. A month later he made his first World Cup podium, a second place finish in the downhill at Lenzerheide. Eight months later he won his first World Cup race, a super combined held in Beaver Creek, Colorado, followed by a giant slalom victory three days later.

As of January 2014, Albrecht has 4 World Cup victories, 8 podiums, and 22 top ten finishes [1]

Hahnenkammrennen injury

At Kitzbühel, Austria, on Thursday, 22 January 2009, Albrecht crashed in the final downhill training run on the Hahnenkamm's Streif course; he sustained brain and lung trauma and was placed in an induced coma.[2] Albrecht, the fifth racer on the course, was traveling at 138 km/h (86 mph) when he lost control on the final jump (Zielsprung) and flew through the air for about 70 m (230 ft). He landed on his back, bounced forward onto his knees, then his face, and came to a stop near the finish line. Unconscious, Albrecht received medical attention for about 20 minutes before being airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in nearby St. Johann. He was later transferred to the university hospital in Innsbruck.[3]

Two days later, Dr. Wolfgang Koller announced that the risk on Albrecht's life was decreasing. Dr. Markus Wambacher said that the pressure inside his head was lessening and that he could make a full recovery. He also stated that Albrecht had problems with his knees and stomach. Albrecht was removed from the induced coma after three weeks, on 12 February. Doctors reported that he was breathing on his own.[4][5][6][7]

Recovery

Albrecht expectedly missed the remainder of the 2009 season but had recovered sufficiently to train with the Swiss ski team in October, less than nine months after the crash. [8] Still not ready for World Cup competition, he sat out the 2010 season, missing the Winter Olympics.

He returned to the World Cup circuit in the giant slalom at Beaver Creek, Colorado, on 5 December 2010, and finished 21st. Albrecht raced his first speed event of his comeback at Wengen, Switzerland on 14 January 2011, the downhill portion of the super combined on a shortened Lauberhorn course. He missed a gate just after the high-speed Hannegschuss, about fifteen seconds from the finish, and safely skied off of the course.

Knee injury

During a training run for the Lake Louise downhill in November 2012, Albrecht crashed and suffered a dislocated left kneecap with torn ligaments. He underwent surgery in Switzerland and will likely miss the 2013 season.[9][10]

World Cup results

Race podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
20072007 World Championships
14 Mar 2007    Lenzerheide, Switzerland   Downhill2nd
2008 29 Nov 2007 Beaver Creek, USA Super combined1st
2 Dec 2007 Giant slalom1st
5 Jan 2008    Adelboden, Switzerland Giant slalom2nd
11 Jan 2008    Wengen, Switzerland Super combined2nd
15 Mar 2008 Bormio, Italy Slalom2nd
200926 Oct 2008 Sölden, Austria Giant slalom1st
21 Dec 2008 Alta Badia, Italy Giant slalom 1st

Season standings

Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
 slalom  		Super-G Downhill Combined
2005 21 53 34 43 – – 4
2006 22 50 26 30 – – 36
2007 23 27 22 20 31 30 18
2008 24 7 18 5 23 43 3
2009 25 20 55 7 23 22 18
2010 26 Did not compete, severely injured in January 2009
2011 27 140 – 42 – – —
2012 28 152 – 52 – – –
2013 29 Did not compete, injured left knee in November 2012

Videos

References

  1. ↑ Ski-db.com – results – Daniel Albrecht – accessed 26 January 2013
  2. ↑ "Albrecht placed in coma after accident during Streif training". The Guardian (London). 22 January 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Swiss skier Albrecht in induced coma after crash". USA Today. Associated Press. 22 January 2006.
  4. ↑ "Albrecht awake, lung damage the biggest hurdle left". Ski Racing.com. 13 February 2009.
  5. ↑ "Albrecht awakens from induced coma". ESPN. Associated Press. 12 February 2009.
  6. ↑ "Albrecht suffers no permanent damage after crash". USA Today. Associate Press. 13 February 2009.
  7. ↑ "Albrecht leaves hospital, hopes to race again". SI.com. Associated Press. 30 April 2009.
  8. ↑ Telegraph.co.uk- "Daniel Albrecht unsure about World Cup return..." 16 October 2009
  9. ↑ "Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht injured". ESPN. Associated Press. 22 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "Daniel Albrecht undergoes surgery after serious knee injury". SI.com. Associated Press. 28 November 2012.

External links