Injury casts doubt over ski jumper Artti Aigro's Winter Olympics status
Estonia's top ski jumper Artti Aigro suffered an injury while competing. This has put a question mark on whether he will be able to appear at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy next month.
The sportsman suffered a fall during the Four Hills Tournament training in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the final day of 2025.
On the first training jump, the Estonian put in 125 meters. He went couple of meters further on his second, when he came to grief. An MRI examination revealed a partial injury to the medial collateral ligament of the left knee. A CT scan also showed a non-displaced fracture of the second metatarsal.
"I lost pressure under the ski at the end of the training jump and landed quickly, so the ski slipped slightly to the side, caught an edge and pulled me away from my body," Aigro recounted.
Recovery will take an estimated five to six weeks. This puts his participation in February's Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics at risk. "Unfortunately, the Olympics are under threat, but you have to stay positive, as fortunately the condition of the knee is good – the ACL and meniscus are intact," Aigro added.
Aigro had finished in 26th place at the Oberstdorf opening event. Another Estonian, Kaimar Vagul, is also competing in the ski jumping tour this year.
The men's normal hill competition at the Milan–Cortina Olympics is scheduled for February 9. Training will start earlier than that. The large hill competition is to take place on February 14.
Aigro, 26, has represented Estonia twice at the winter games in his career so far, in 2018 and 2022. He holds the domestic ski jump record (228 meters).
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
