“Apparently my body has finally had enough”

Marc Gisin resigns with immediate effect almost twelve years after his World Cup debut. The Obwalden speed specialist, who repeatedly struggled to turn back after severe falls, had to realize that his body was no longer able to cope with the demands of top-level sport.

Marc Gisin fell very badly in December 2018 just before the Gobbe del Camel in Val Gardena. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, several broken bones and a crushed lung. Last winter, the 32-year-old brother of Olympic champions Dominique and Michelle Gisin made several comeback attempts. He was on the Swiss Ski line-up for the slopes of Lake Louise, Beaver Creek, Val Gardena and Wengen, but he always left him at the training slopes.

In the spring and summer he trained with the team again, with the intention that “at the start of the season everything has to work for me as before my accident,” said Gisin a few weeks ago. Otherwise the question of meaning must arise. Engelberger, whose body has not fully recovered from the serious injuries, has now responded with his immediate resignation. The 32-year-old explains his decision on social media:

“Again and out. The time has come to say goodbye to ski racing. Since my fall in December 2018, I have tried absolutely everything possible to recover from an injury. I tried to give my body, and especially my renewed head injury, the time it needed to fully rehabilitate. But apparently my body has finally had enough. ”

Proprioception (ed: perception of the body based on its position, posture and movement) is still lagging behind and does not allow him to ski at a level that would satisfy his needs and would also be very competitive at the World Cup level, so Gisin .

Injuries prevented Gisin from achieving better results

The tall athlete (1.98 meters) has repeatedly seen himself tipped back due to injuries in his career. In 2012 at the home World Cup in Crans-Montana, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in his knee. On 23 January 2015 he crashed spectacularly at the Super-G in Kitzbühel on the Hausbergkante. On impact, the Obwalden suffered a traumatic brain injury. Although he returned to the World Cup the following season and was fifth in the downhill in Kitzbühel, more than a year and a half after his crash, Gisin was once again struggling with health problems.

Due to the symptoms of exhaustion, he could hardly sleep at night, which is why he stopped the season in early December 2016. In winter 2017/18 Gisin returned with good results and another 5th place on the Streif . In the final downhill classification he took 23rd place with 71 points, becoming the fourth best Swiss in this ranking. In February 2018 he participated in the Pyeongchang Winter Games, where he was Downhill 21. he was. However, participating in the World Cup was never enough.

Read more about the horror incident