Olympic downhill champion Corinne Suter out for a month after training crash

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ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Olympic downhill champion Corinne Suter crashed in training, the Swiss team said Thursday, and cannot ski until about a month before she is due to defend her title.

The 31-year-old Suter shapes as a strong contender at the Milan Cortina Winter Games in February where women's Alpine skiing is raced at Cortina d'Ampezzo — the scenic storied hill where she also took downhill gold at the 2021 world championships.

The Swiss team said Suter tore a muscle in her left calf, bruised her left knee and fractured a bone in her right foot crashing in a downhill practice Wednesday at St. Moritz.

The Swiss resort stages the first women's downhill in the World Cup season on Dec. 12 which should be United States great Lindsey Vonn 's first race of the Olympic campaign.

The Swiss ski federation said Suter does not need surgery though probably must wait about one month before getting back on her skis. The Olympics open Feb. 6.

The strong Swiss speed team already lost star veteran Lara Gut-Behrami for the Olympic season. She tore the ACL in her left knee crashing in training last month at Copper Mountain, Colorado.

Gut-Behrami edged Suter for the super-G gold medal at Cortina in 2021, which was the first biennial worlds after Vonn retired.

Vonn made her comeback last season skiing with a titanium knee and is aiming for her fifth Olympics at age 41. She took downhill gold in 2010 and bronze in 2018.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics