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Ted Ligety to undergo surgery
"Ted the Shred" will not compete at World Championships
If nothing else, it’s the end of one of skiing’s most dominant winning streaks.
Ted Ligety revealed late Monday that he will have a back operation that will keep him off the slopes for the remainder of the 2016-2017 campaign.
As a result, the man known as “Ted the Shred” will be unable to defend his giant slalom crown at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland, next month.
Ligety has won giant slalom gold at the last three World Championships, a remarkable run stretching all the way back to 2011. He also up picked super-G and combined gold at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria.
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“I have been dealing with severe nerve pain down my left leg that has not allowed me to ski at the level that I expect of myself,” Ligety said in a post on his Instagram page late Tuesday.
“I have seen many doctors and therapists, undergone an array of treatments and therapies to no effect. Unfortunately surgery (microdiscectomy) means my season is over and a chance to defend my GS (giant slalom) title again at World Champs.”
The 32-year-old Ligety has only raced three times in World Cup meets this season and not since appearing in the giant slalom event in Val d’Isere, France, in December.
Ligety told the US Ski Team website in December that he had been having injections to try to resolve the back pain that has subsequently ended his campaign.
His 2015-2016 season also ended early when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament while training in Germany last January.
“This has been tough to accept especially after last season, but on the plus side hopefully this surgery will alleviate the back issues I have dealt with over the last few years. I will be back strong and fast again. Thanks for your support. #illbeback,” Ligety added.
A report on the US Ski Team website said Ligety was now likely to focus on the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea which begins in February next year.
Another former skiing world champion, Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, also announced that he underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday.
