"The Kloa" drives German ski ace on after injury horror
There are worse motivational aids than your own daughter. The birth of little Elena at the end of June gave Thomas Dreßen "quite a boost", as he says with shining eyes. The new drive should finally get the now 29-year-old downhill skier back to where he was before: at the top of the world's best downhill skiers. His motivation: "Die Kloa", the little one, should experience for herself what Mr. Papa is capable of. "It would be cool to be successful again with the little one," says Dreßen, "otherwise someone will have to tell her what I've done."
He has already done a lot, but that was a long time ago: the past three years were mainly characterized by physical problems. Now it's time for a fresh start, against a magnificent backdrop: The downhill racers start the winter with two races on the iconic Matterhorn on Saturday and Sunday. Dreßen has been a great promise since he won on the Streif in Kitzbühel in January 2018. This was followed by another victory in Kvitfjell, but then his career went off track for the first time: in November 2018, he crashed heavily in Beaver Creek - torn cruciate ligament, knee broken, hip damaged.
Aiming for a return to the top of the world
Exactly one year later: victory on his comeback in Lake Louise, followed by two more successes and two third places by the end of the season. So, all good again? By no means. Between March 2020 and November 2022, i.e. for two and a half years, Dreßen did not compete in any races with the exception of the World Championship downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo in February 2021 (18th): His hip and knee required further operations. Even when he wanted to compete regularly again last winter, his body often didn't cooperate, and he also made technical mistakes.
Despite illness and knee pain, Dreßen only skied well at the World Championships: tenth in the downhill, just 0.26 seconds away from bronze. And now? "I'm just looking forward to the season," emphasizes Dreßen. Well, his body now has to be looked after "like a Formula 1 car", right down to the last screw. But no new construction sites have opened up. And so Dreßen feels that he has had a good preparation, with increased giant slalom training to eradicate "beginner's mistakes" that led to crashes in Kitzbühel or in World Championship training last season.
Dreßen says he can now "listen to my instincts more" again. He will need this special skiing feeling for the races on the Matterhorn, which had to be canceled last year due to an acute lack of snow. The route from above Zermatt down to Cervinia in Italy is new territory, which is not so bad, Dreßen claims. Three training runs are scheduled, "if you don't know where to go after that, you don't need to ski anyway". However, "I'm looking forward to it," says Dreßen. His goals for the races and the season without a major event? "I just want to get my performance back, then nothing will stand in the way of a good result." In plain language: Dreßen believes in his return to the top of the world. He has plenty of motivation for the coming years.
After his successful comeback wins, Dreßen continue to face numerous physical challenges and operations. Despite the setbacks, he aims to return to his former alpine skiing form and climb back to the top ranks again. During the winter, downhill racers will compete on the iconic Matterhorn, and Dreßen hopes to perform well and improve his standing in the world of alpine skiing.
Source: www.ntv.de
