Sarah Hendrickson, the first woman to ski jump in the Olympics in 2014, will miss the upcoming World Cup season after reinjuring her surgically repaired right knee in June and undergoing another surgery this week.
“I am not giving up on my dreams that I set years ago — this is just another speed bump in the road but my story isn’t over,” Hendrickson said in a press release. “It’s a bummer for me to miss the World Cup tour this season, but I’m fortunate that this is a year without and Olympics or World Championships.
“It will be an opportunity for me to have a mental break and focus on coming back next season even stronger for the 2018 Olympics. I have a different mindset than in the past and I’m confident in my ability to come back in 2017 and be competitive in Pyeongchang.”
Hendrickson, who is 21 and is to undergo another surgery in a few months, was sixth at the World Championships on Feb. 20 in her first full season since blowing out her right knee in an Aug. 21, 2013, jumping crash.
Hendrickson finished 21st at the Sochi Olympics and won the 2013 World Championship.
The World Cup season starts in December.