Broke both legs 3 years ago This comeback is the best surprise of the ski winter
Three years after a serious training crash, Max Franz is back in the World Cup. The Austrian is about to make an emotional comeback in Val Gardena/Gröden.
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- Three years after a serious crash with multiple leg fractures, Max Franz makes a surprising return to World Cup action and completes an official training session in Val Gardena/Gröden.
- Despite his still noticeable physical limitations, his run on the Saslong is impressive - an emotional comeback that seems secondary in sporting terms.
- Whether an official World Cup race will follow remains to be seen, but simply reaching the finish line will be celebrated as a personal triumph.
Max Franz was back at the start of an official training run in Val Gardena/Gröden for the first time on Tuesday - exactly three years after breaking both legs in a fall and suffering an open lower leg fracture.
1129 days after the momentous accident in Copper Mountain, the 36-year-old Austrian was able to recommend himself for an appearance in the downhill or super-G in the ÖSV's internal qualification run. The fact that he was six seconds behind training winner Marco Odermatt and in 58th place was not yet competitive in sporting terms hardly mattered. Especially as the second training session on Wednesday was completely canceled due to the weather.
The fact that Franz is skiing down a World Cup course again is nothing short of a miracle given his injury history. "My leg was goulash," he described the situation after the fall in November 2022 in the "Kurier" newspaper. The traces are still visible today: 114-centimetre-long scars, several operations, 22 screws and two metal plates in his legs. In addition, a numb feeling in the sole of his left foot - and continued restrictions when walking.
"My leg works better when I'm skiing than it does in everyday life," says Franz, explaining how it is possible that he can barely walk without pain, but can ski down the Saslong at speeds of up to 140 km/h. However, it wasn't without some tension. He was "very nervous" before the start, he told the "Krone" - also because of the difficult visibility conditions. But after just a few turns, a familiar feeling returned.
Shock moment on the camel humps
By the time he reached the notorious camel humps, however, the euphoria gave way to stark reality. "I felt like I'd jumped into a wall, I was shocked," says Franz, describing the moment when he touched down too early after the third hump. "I looked down and thought to myself: 'This isn't going to end well'".
But his heavily strained legs held up. Franz arrived at the bottom - and shortly afterwards proved to have a sense of humor: "All the metal inside me helped me stay stable. I haven't even looked to see if anything is sticking out."
Whether Franz will actually make his official World Cup comeback in the coming days is a secondary consideration after this training session. The important thing was to finish again. For the three-time World Cup winner, that means more than any result. "I achieved more than 99.8 percent believed I would. That makes me very proud."
