Daniel Albrecht
Personal information
Born (1983-05-25) 25 May 1983
Fiesch, Valais, Switzerland
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesDownhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, combined
ClubFiesch Eggishorn
World Cup debut23 January 2003 (age 19)
Retired6 October 2013 (age 30)
WebsiteDaniel-Albrecht.ch
Olympics
Teams1 – (2006)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams3 – (2003, 2005, 2007)
Medals3 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons7 – (2005–09, 2011–12)
Wins4 – (3 GS, 1 SC)
Podiums8 – (1 DH, 4 GS, 1 SL, 2 SC)
Overall titles0 – (7th in 2008)
Discipline titles0 – (3rd in K, 2008)
Medal record
Men's alpine skiing
Representing   Switzerland
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Åre Combined
Silver medal – second place 2007 Åre Giant slalom
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Åre Team event
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Serre Chevalier Downhill
Gold medal – first place 2003 Serre Chevalier Giant slalom
Gold medal – first place 2003 Serre Chevalier Combined
Silver medal – second place 2003 Serre Chevalier Slalom

Daniel Albrecht (born 25 May 1983) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. He was a world champion in super combined in 2007, but was severely injured in a training run in 2009.

Racing career

Born in Fiesch in the canton of Valais, Albrecht made his World Cup debut at age 19 in January 2003 in a slalom at Schladming, Austria. A few weeks later, he competed in the slalom at the 2003 World Championships at St. Moritz. That March, he won three gold medals and a silver at the Junior World Championships at Serre Chevalier, France.

At the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden, Albrecht won the gold medal in the super combined event, and took the silver medal in the giant slalom. A month later he made his first World Cup podium, a second-place finish in the downhill at Lenzerheide. Eight months later he won his first World Cup race, a super combined held in Beaver Creek, Colorado, followed by a giant slalom victory three days later.

Albrecht has four World Cup victories, eight podiums, and 22 top ten finishes.[1]

Hahnenkammrennen injury

At Kitzbühel, Austria, on Thursday, 22 January 2009, Albrecht crashed in the final downhill training run on the Hahnenkamm's Streif course; he sustained brain and lung trauma and was placed in an induced coma.[2] The fifth racer on the course, Albrecht was traveling at 138 km/h (86 mph) when he lost control on the final jump (Zielsprung) and flew through the air for about 40 m (130 ft).[3][4] He landed on his back, bounced forward onto his knees, then his face, and came to a stop near the finish line. Unconscious, Albrecht received medical attention for about 20 minutes before being airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in nearby St. Johann. He was later transferred to the university hospital in Innsbruck.[3]

Two days later, Dr. Wolfgang Koller announced that the risk on Albrecht's life was decreasing. Dr. Markus Wambacher said that the pressure inside his head was lessening and that he could make a full recovery. He also stated that Albrecht, age 25, had problems with his knees and stomach. He was removed from the induced coma after three weeks, on 12 February, and doctors reported that he was breathing on his own.[5][6][7][8]

Recovery

Albrecht expectedly missed the remainder of the 2009 season but had recovered sufficiently to train with the Swiss ski team in October, less than nine months after the crash. [9] Still not ready for World Cup competition, he sat out the 2010 season, missing the Winter Olympics.

Albrecht returned to the World Cup circuit in the giant slalom at Beaver Creek in December 2010 and finished 21st. Albrecht raced his first speed event of his comeback in Switzerland at Wengen in January 2011, the downhill portion of the super combined on a shortened Lauberhorn course. He missed a gate just after the high-speed Hannegschuss, about fifteen seconds from the finish, and safely skied off of the course.

Knee injury

During a training run for the Lake Louise downhill in November 2012, Albrecht crashed and suffered a dislocated left kneecap with torn ligaments, and underwent surgery in Switzerland.[10][11] Less than a year later on 6 October 2013, he announced his retirement from racing.

World Cup results

Race podiums

  • 4 wins – (3 GS, 1 SC)
  • 8 podiums – (1 DH, 4 GS, 1 SL, 2 SC)
SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
20072007 World Championships
14 Mar 2007Lenzerheide, Switzerland  Downhill2nd
200829 Nov 2007Beaver Creek, USASuper combined1st
2 Dec 2007Giant slalom1st
5 Jan 2008Adelboden, SwitzerlandGiant slalom2nd
11 Jan 2008Wengen, SwitzerlandSuper combined2nd
15 Mar 2008Bormio, ItalySlalom2nd
200926 Oct 2008Sölden, AustriaGiant slalom1st
21 Dec 2008Alta Badia, ItalyGiant slalom1st

Season standings

SeasonAgeOverallSlalomGiant
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
200521533443——4
200622502630——36
200723272220313018
200824718523433
20092520557232218
201026Did not compete, severely injured in January 2009
201127140—42———
201228152—52———
201329Did not compete, injured left knee in November 2012

World Championship results

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
20031930————
200521DNF130——7
200723DNF12461

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 slalom 		Super-GDownhillCombined
200622DNF2DNF1——4

Videos

  • YouTube video – Daniel Albrecht – training run crash at Kitzbühel – 22 Jan 2009
  • YouTube video – Daniel Albrecht – returns in GS at Alta Badia – 19 Dec 2010

References

  1. ↑ Ski-db.com – results – Daniel Albrecht – accessed 26 January 2013
  2. ↑ "Albrecht placed in coma after accident during Streif training". The Guardian. London. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Swiss skier Albrecht kept in coma after crash". ESPN.com. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht in coma after crashing in training". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Albrecht awake, lung damage the biggest hurdle left". Ski Racing.com. 13 February 2009.
  6. ↑ "Albrecht awakens from induced coma". ESPN. Associated Press. 12 February 2009.
  7. ↑ "Albrecht suffers no permanent damage after crash". USA Today. Associated Press. 13 February 2009.
  8. ↑ "Albrecht leaves hospital, hopes to race again". SI.com. Associated Press. 30 April 2009.
  9. ↑ Telegraph.co.uk- "Daniel Albrecht unsure about World Cup return..." 16 October 2009
  10. ↑ "Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht injured". ESPN. Associated Press. 22 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "Daniel Albrecht undergoes surgery after serious knee injury". SI.com. Associated Press. 28 November 2012.
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