In Comeback Season, Merryweather Sustains Broken Leg
*This story was updated on September 22.*
This season was supposed to be Olympian Alice Merryweather's comeback season, after sitting out the 2020-21 season to take the time needed to focus on health and happiness as she pursued intensive treatment for an eating disorder. All signs were pointing towards brighter days, as Merryweather tackled a successful strength and conditioning period as well as return-to-snow camps in Official Training Site Mammoth Mountain, Calif., and then Saas-Fee, Switzerland with many bright moments both on and off the mountain with her teammates. She was skiing strong, showing her teammates, coaches, competitors—and most importantly, herself—how far she had come the last 12 months...and just how much joy she had found in skiing again.
And then, it happened. A crash while going 80mph during a downhill training day this past Wednesday at Saas-Fee towards the bottom of the course, resulted in a broken tibia and fibula, and a scraped-up and swollen face. However, her big heart and brave soul was intact. As the helicopter was approaching, Merryweather remained calm despite the situation and the immense pain. Her serviceman (Dušan) commented that he had never seen an athlete in that situation with such bravery and courage. Merryweather was airlifted to a nearby hospital and has already had a successful surgery.
Merryweather has been through so much in the last year...but she remains confident that she can overcome the upcoming obstacles. "The recovery to come looks a lot different than my last," she commented, "...but if I can rewire my brain I think I can heal some bone and ligaments too," while she thanked everyone for their ongoing support. She was visited by teammates (bearing gifts M&M cookies, a Saas-Fee cow mug with her name on it, stuffed animals, rose quartz crystals, and lots of tears and hugs) coaches, and her physio Torey Anderson...and was well-taken care of the last few days.
Merryweather will return home to the United States for further evaluation on her knee and join her family and teammate/boyfriend Sam DuPratt (who is himself recovering from a double leg break sustained at Val Gardena, Italy last December) in the coming days. All of our love and healing energy is with her as she enters this next period of recovery.
Injury Update: September 22
Alice Merryweather
Alice Merryweather learned to ski at four years old on the wintery slopes of Attitash Mountain, chasing her brother down the hill. When she reached high school, she decided to pursue her ski racing dreams and enrolled at Stratton Mountain School. At Stratton, she earned herself spots on the Junior World Championship teams in 2014 and 2015, as well as a spot on the D Team in 2016.