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Two-time Olympic champion Michelle Gisin was airlifted off the course by helicopter on Thursday after she crashed heavily during a World Cup downhill training run in St Moritz, Switzerland.
Gisin is the third reigning Olympic champion on the Swiss women's alpine skiing team to suffer a training accident in the past month, following Lara Gut-Behrami and Corinne Suter.
On an overcast morning in St Moritz, the 32-year-old Swiss crashed into a safety barrier at more than 110 km/h (69 mph) during downhill training scheduled for Friday and Saturday, followed by a super-G on Sunday.
One of Gisin's skis appeared to catch on an edge as she approached a fast left turn and she lost control, going straight through the first layer of safety netting before being stopped by a second.
No injuries were immediately reported. Television pictures showed Gisin conscious and lying next to the track, with scratches and cuts on her face as she was examined by medics.
Gisin, who won gold in alpine combined at the last two Winter Games, is now the veteran speed leader of the Swiss women's team due to injuries to her fellow Beijing 2022 Olympic champions.
Gut-Behrami's Olympic season ended due to a torn ACL in his left knee during a training accident last month in Copper Mountain, Colorado.
Suter has been off skiing for about a month due to injuries to his calves, knees and feet following an accident while training in St. Moritz last month.
At the last Winter Games in China, Suter won the downhill, Gut-Behrami won the super-G, where Gisin took bronze, and Gisin won the final title in individual combined. Swiss skiers have seven Olympic medals in their careers.
Gisin crashed on Thursday while US star Lindsey Vonn was already on the track starting a practice run. Vonn was stopped while Gisin received medical attention and later resumed running.
Vonn was fastest in Wednesday's first practice.
The Cortina Olympic Games in Milan will open on February 6 with the women's alpine skiing race on the legendary Cortina d'Ampezzo hill.





