CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Austrian bobsledder Katrin Beierl is racing at theMilan Cortina Gameswith a broken foot.
Milan Cortina Olympics Bobsled
As far as medical challenges go, that's almost an easy one compared with some of what she's dealt with in recent years.
Go back to August 2022, when Beierl — then just a few days shy of her 29th birthday — was on vacation in Peru. She thought she was just having a bad migraine and went back to bed. Turns out, she was having a stroke. And she didn't know what would happen next.
"I thought this is the end of my career," Beierl said.
Not even close. She did wind up missing an entire season, was out of her sled for basically a full year and went 21 months between official races — from the 2022 Beijing Olympics through a November 2023 World Cup event in her native Austria.
But now, she's clearly full-go again. Beierl was a three-time World Cup medal winner this season, doubling her career total, and enters Sunday's start of the monobob competition at these Olympics as one of the legitimate hopefuls.
"To have achieved this big, big goal again after the stroke, to be at my third Olympic Games, is indescribable," Beierl said. "I am super proud to represent Austria once more, and I am looking forward to everything that comes."
The stroke affected her vision, left her dealing with dizziness and fatigue at times and obviously limited her ability to train. In time, most of the issues subsided and Beierl's results show that — she was fifth in the combined World Cup standings last season, fourth in the combined standings this season.
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At Cortina, she'll race in the monobob Sunday and Monday, then team with Christania Williams — a silver medalist sprinter for Jamaica in the 400-meter relay at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games before obtaining her Austrian citizenship — for the two-woman event on Friday and Saturday.
But even that was in some doubt when Beierl needed surgery three weeks ago after slipping during a weight-training workout and breaking her foot.
"The plan was to make news with just the results, but there were other plans for me," she said.
The foot is good enough for her to compete, which means her Olympic comeback is about to be complete.
She's felt medal pressure before at the Olympics. This time, she's determined to just enjoy the moment.
"That pressure is not there anymore, so I see it as my chance to really enjoy my last Olympics," Beierl said. "It would not be my last race, but definitely my last Olympics. I just want to stand on that race day on Sunday with all the friends and family coming here, and I just want to have light in my heart and slide down the best I can."
AP Winter Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
