German snowboarder Ramona Hofmeister has staged an impressive comeback after a serious injury and is now a gold favorite at the Olympics in Livigno. In late September, she suffered an ankle fracture and outer ligament tear, but just months later, she won a World Cup event. With two victories and two podium finishes since January, she is closing in on her goal: Olympic gold.
Ramona Hofmeister, the 29-year-old Olympic bronze medalist from 2018 and four-time overall World Cup winner, suffered an ankle fracture and outer ligament tear in late September during a training accident in Zermatt. Surgery was required, and experts considered a comeback possible only in the spring at earliest. But the fighter refused to give up: "I never wrote off the Olympics topic," she says.
During rehab, she trained more intensely than ever and learned a lot about herself: "Frustration is a waste of energy. Such an injury or setback in life doesn't mean everything is over and you fall into a hole. It means you have to look for alternatives." Despite her injured right foot, she traveled independently by bus to therapy. She received crucial support from her athletic trainer Marcus Hirschbiel and his wife, 1998 Olympic gold medalist Hilde Gerg. "Hilde treated me several times and helped me a lot," Hofmeister reveals.
Shortly before Christmas, she got back on the board and immediately felt the familiar sensation: "I had a grin on my face the whole time because it worked and I was relatively pain-free." On January 10, she returned to the World Cup in Scuol, Switzerland, and won her first parallel giant slalom race, securing her Olympic ticket. Since then, she has claimed two victories and two more podium finishes, most recently second place in Rogla, Slovenia. "The podium gives a really good feeling," she says about the dress rehearsal for the Olympic event on Sunday in Livigno (from 9 a.m., ZDF).
Today, Hofmeister has no complaints: "I have no bandage, no brace, or anything else. And I don't take any painkillers." As a co-favorite, she feels no pressure, only anticipation: "This is already a comeback you can only dream of. I'm incredibly grateful that it's working out like this and that I'm experiencing my third Games." A gold would crown the fairy-tale story.
