Urs Kryenbühl retires from active ski racing. The 31-year-old is putting an end to a career marked by injuries.
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- Urs Kryenbühl is ending his career as a ski racer.
- The 31-year-old from Central Switzerland has had to recover several times from serious injuries. He had to end the past season back in December.
- "Despite all the setbacks, I look back on my career positively," he says in an Instagram video.
"I was able to experience some great moments in the Ski World Cup, but unfortunately also the dark side," Urs Kryenbühl is quoted as saying in a press release from Swiss-Ski. "I have fought my way back again and again, allowing these challenges to grow within me, which have made me the person I am today and I am really proud of that."
Kryenbühl has competed in 62 World Cup races, finishing on the downhill podium three times. He was also Swiss downhill champion three times.
The Central Swiss racer's serious crash in Kitzbühel in January 2021, in which Kryenbühl lost control shortly before the finish at a speed of 147 km/h and crashed onto the icy slope, is unforgettable. He suffered a concussion, a fracture in his right collarbone and a torn cruciate and medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
This was not the last injury in Kryenbühl's career. In Bormio in 2022, he tore his cruciate ligament again and the speed specialist had to end the past season in December after injuring his knee again in Beaver Creek.
Moving look back at his career
In an Instagram post, Kryenbühl looks back on the beginnings of his career and his greatest successes and also talks about the "dark side of the sport", as he says himself. "But I've always fought my way back."
Despite all the setbacks, he looks back on his career positively. "I was able to turn my hobby into a profession, which is a huge privilege." Kryenbühl has left it open as to whether he will remain involved in ski racing in any form in the future.
