Female ski jumper Pretorius suffers “heartbreaking” injury
The dream of being one of the first female ski jumping participants at the Olympics ended for 18-year old Alexandra Pretorius just days before the Opening Ceremony. The ski jumper re-aggravated an injured ACL – for which she had surgery in August – which has ruled Pretorius out of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
“Despite all my hard work a recent event has resulted in a tragic reinjured knee which will not recover in time for Sochi,” Pretorius said in a release through the Canadian Olympic Committee.
“Although this is heartbreaking news I will be cheering on all Canadians and I look forward to having my chance at the next Winter Olympic Games.”
The subtraction of Pretorius leaves Canada with two female ski jumpers as the women’s event makes its historic Olympic debut in Sochi. Atsuko Tanaka and Taylor Henrich will fly the Canadian flag on the RusSki Gorki hill.
The women’s event will take place on February 11.
