Estonian Kelly Sildaru, the 15-year-old Olympic ski slopestyle favorite, is out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury in a training fall in the past week in New Zealand, according to her social media.
“Until I get home and see my team of doctors and specialist we don’t know how long I will be off skis or what the injury really is,” was posted on Sildaru’s accounts. “I am determined to put the work in to be back as soon as possible, but also will want to be 100% to ensure a long career.”
The post said Sildaru will provide more details once she learns more about the injury in the next two weeks. Sildaru’s father and coach said the fall was not hard but a result of a her skis being crossed on an unlucky landing, according to Estonian media.
Sildaru, who was born during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, won the last two Winter X Games ski slopestyle titles. Her first, at age 13 in 2016, made her the youngest Winter X Games champion in any event.
The PyeongChang ski slopestyle event takes place on her 16th birthday.
Sildaru is also a medal contender in ski halfpipe after winning the world junior title last season and placing second in a World Cup event in New Zealand on Sept. 1. She outscored the three Sochi Olympic pipe medalists, including gold medalist Maddie Bowman, in the World Cup.
By age 12, Sildaru was already in an Estonian yogurt commercial with one of the nation’s pop stars. A video of her skiing from when she was 8 and 9 years old has more than 200,000 YouTube views.
All seven of Estonia’s Winter Olympic medals have come in cross-country skiing.
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VIDEO: Slopestyle skier shows off acrobatic moves in training