Swiss skiers who went one-two at Olympics suffer ACL tears in back-to-back weeks

Ryan Regez, Alex Fiva
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Swiss Ryan Regez and Alex Fiva, who went one-two in ski cross at the Olympics, suffered ACL tears three days apart, underwent surgeries and will likely miss the rest of the season, including February’s world championships.

Regez, the reigning Olympic world champion, fell at a World Cup on Monday, also suffering two small meniscus tears, according to the Swiss ski federation.

Fiva, the reigning world champion who took Olympic silver, tore his left ACL at a World Cup last Friday.

In the Olympic final, Regez, a former downhill skier turned apprentice as a structural draftsman, got the hole shot and never relinquished the lead.

The Olympic bronze medalist is also out of action. That’s Sergey Ridzik, who is ineligible indefinitely due the ban on all Russian athletes over the war in Ukraine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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In Olympic skiing race, a second bronze medal awarded 10 months after the Games

Fanny Smith, Daniela Maier
Fanny Smith (green) and Daniela Maier (blue) will share the Olympic ski cross bronze medal. (Getty)
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A second bronze medal will be awarded in the Beijing Olympic women’s ski cross race, 10 months after it took place.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that Swiss Fanny Smith, the bronze medalist according to the International Ski Federation, and German Daniela Maier, the bronze medalist according to the International Olympic Committee, agreed, along with their federations, to share third place.

The IOC agreed to allocate two bronze medals, according to CAS. Sandra Näslund of Sweden took gold, and Marielle Thompson of Canada is the silver medalist.

Originally, Smith crossed the finish line in third place in the four-woman final at the Winter Games in February. Upon review by the International Ski Federation (FIS) jury, she was minutes later demoted to fourth place after making contact with Maier near the end of the course. Maier, who originally was fourth, was upgraded to bronze.

“I tried to be OK with the fourth place. I was very disappointed, I have to say, [then] the jury was like this,” Maier said then. “I am really sorry for Fanny that it’s like this right now. … The jury decided like this, so accept it and be happy with the medal.”

Smith and the Swiss ski federation appealed. FIS reinstated Smith as the bronze medalist nine days after the race and six days after the Closing Ceremony. A FIS appeals commission met four times and reviewed video and written documentation for several hours before deciding that “the close proximity of the racers at that moment resulted in action that was neither intentional or avoidable.”

But that wasn’t the end. The case — Maier and the German ski federation vs. Smith, the Swiss ski federation and FIS — ended up going to CAS, whose rulings are usually accepted as final, before the parties reached a settlement.

Maier still has the bronze medal at her home and said recently enjoys looking at it, according to German media. Smith and Maier spoke extensively about it in recent training sessions and cleared things up. Maier said the best outcome would be bronze medals for both of them, according to the German report.

Shared or duplicate Olympic medals are rare outside of ties in time- and points-based events and combat sports that award two bronze medals.

The most significant case in recent memory was the 2002 Olympic pairs’ figure skating judging scandal that resulted in Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier being elevated to co-gold medalists with Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.

This is the first shared Olympic medal in freestyle skiing history.

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A Winter Olympic medal still being decided, 10 months later

Fanny Smith, Daniela Maier
It's still unknown whether Fanny Smith (green) or Daniela Maier (blue) is the Olympic ski cross bronze medalist. (Getty)
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There is a second Winter Olympic medal result still in question, 10 months after the Games.

While the figure skating team event results are still unknown due to the Kamila Valiyeva case, the bronze medal in women’s ski cross is also in dispute.

Originally, Swiss Fanny Smith crossed the finish line in third place in the four-woman final at the Winter Games in February. Upon review by the International Ski Federation (FIS) jury, she was minutes later demoted to fourth place after making contact with German Daniela Maier near the end of the course. Maier, who originally was fourth, was upgraded to bronze.

“I tried to be OK with the fourth place. I was very disappointed, I have to say, [then] the jury was like this,” Maier said then. “I am really sorry for Fanny that it’s like this right now. … The jury decided like this, so accept it and be happy with the medal.”

Smith and the Swiss ski federation appealed. FIS reinstated Smith as the bronze medalist nine days after the race and six days after the Closing Ceremony. A FIS appeals commission met four times and reviewed video and written documentation for several hours before deciding that “the close proximity of the racers at that moment resulted in action that was neither intentional or avoidable.”

But that wasn’t the end. The case ended up reportedly going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), whose rulings are usually accepted as final. The CAS process is ongoing, European media reported this week.

CAS has not responded to a request for comment. A FIS contact said Friday, “There is currently no update to provide in regards to the bronze medal in ski cross. Should there be any update, we will inform you.”

Smith said there should be news soon regarding the case, according to Blick.

Maier still has the bronze medal at her home and enjoys looking at it, according to German media, which also reported that the German ski federation expects Maier to win the case and keep the medal. Smith and Maier spoke extensively about it in recent training sessions and cleared things up. Maier said the best outcome would be bronze medals for both of them, according to the report.

For now, FIS lists Smith as the bronze medalist. The IOC lists Maier as the bronze medalist.

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