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.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 25 May 1983 Fiesch, Valais, Switzerland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, combined | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Fiesch Eggishorn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 23 January 2003 (age 19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 6 October 2013 (age 30) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Racing career
editBorn 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.
Albrecht has four World Cup victories, eight podiums, and 22 top ten finishes.[1]
Hahnenkammrennen injury
editAt 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] The fifth racer on the course, Albrecht was traveling at 138 km/h (86 mph) when he lost control on the final jump (Zielsprung) and flew through the air for about 40 m (130 ft).[3][4] 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, age 25, had problems with his knees and stomach.[citation needed] He was removed from the induced coma after three weeks, on 12 February, and doctors reported that he was breathing on his own.[5][6][7][8]
Recovery
editAlbrecht 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. [9] Still not ready for World Cup competition, he sat out the 2010 season, missing the Winter Olympics.
Albrecht returned to the World Cup circuit in the giant slalom at Beaver Creek in December 2010 and finished 21st. Albrecht raced his first speed event of his comeback in Switzerland at Wengen in 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
editDuring a training run for the Lake Louise downhill in November 2012, Albrecht crashed and suffered a dislocated left kneecap with torn ligaments, and underwent surgery in Switzerland.[10][11] Less than a year later on 6 October 2013, he announced his retirement from racing.
World Cup results
editRace podiums
edit| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2007 World Championships | |||
| 14 Mar 2007 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | Downhill | 2nd | |
| 2008 | 29 Nov 2007 | Beaver Creek, USA | Super combined | 1st |
| 2 Dec 2007 | Giant slalom | 1st | ||
| 5 Jan 2008 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | 2nd | |
| 11 Jan 2008 | Wengen, Switzerland | Super combined | 2nd | |
| 15 Mar 2008 | Bormio, Italy | Slalom | 2nd | |
| 2009 | 26 Oct 2008 | Sölden, Austria | Giant slalom | 1st |
| 21 Dec 2008 | Alta Badia, Italy | Giant slalom | 1st | |
Season standings
edit| 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 | |||||
World Championship results
edit| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 19 | 30 | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 21 | DNF1 | 30 | — | — | 7 |
| 2007 | 23 | DNF1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
Olympic results 
edit
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 22 | DNF2 | DNF1 | — | — | 4 |
Videos
edit- YouTube video – Daniel Albrecht – training run crash at Kitzbühel – 22 Jan 2009
- YouTube video – Daniel Albrecht – returns in GS at Alta Badia – 19 Dec 2010
References
edit- ^ Ski-db.com – results – Daniel Albrecht – accessed 26 January 2013
- ^ "Albrecht placed in coma after accident during Streif training". The Guardian. London. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Swiss skier Albrecht kept in coma after crash". ESPN.com. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht in coma after crashing in training". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "Albrecht awake, lung damage the biggest hurdle left". Ski Racing.com. 13 February 2009.
- ^ "Albrecht awakens from induced coma". ESPN. Associated Press. 12 February 2009.
- ^ "Albrecht suffers no permanent damage after crash". USA Today. Associated Press. 13 February 2009.
- ^ "Albrecht leaves hospital, hopes to race again". SI.com. Associated Press. 30 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013.
- ^ Telegraph.co.uk- "Daniel Albrecht unsure about World Cup return..." 16 October 2009
- ^ "Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht injured". ESPN. Associated Press. 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Daniel Albrecht undergoes surgery after serious knee injury". SI.com. Associated Press. 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012.
External links
edit- Daniel Albrecht at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Daniel Albrecht World Cup season standings at the International Ski Federation
- Daniel Albrecht at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
- Daniel Albrecht at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Swiss Ski team – official site Archived 3 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
- Official website (in German)
