Canadian skier Valérie Grenier aims for return to top form after injury in super-G crash

Valérie Grenier is confident she can return to top form after a serious injury early this year. After all, this isn't her first time overcoming a major setback.

The Canadian alpine skier hit the slopes at an Alpine Canada camp in Chillan, Chile, from Sept. 13-24. It marked her comeback after multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation following a devastating crash during a World Cup super-G race in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, on Jan. 28.

"I realized that I'm pretty resilient and that it seems like nothing can really get me down that much, even though I've had a lot of injuries, or chronic injuries and things like that," Grenier said of her recovery during a video conference Thursday.

"It seems like I always get back up and just really fight all the way through."

Grenier needed shoulder surgery to repair a fractured humerus and underwent reconstruction of her right knee due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a partial medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear and a torn meniscus.

The 27-year-old from St. Isidore, Ont., also suffered a major injury in February 2019 after breaking her ankle and leg in multiple places during a downhill training run at the world championships in Are, Sweden.

WATCH | Grenier crashes in World Cup super-G in Italy:

Grenier came back from that injury stronger than before, and in 2023-24 ranked ninth overall and fifth in the giant slalom World Cup standings at the time of her fall in Italy.

Two days before her crash, Grenier finished in a three-way tie for third on the same hill, earning her fourth career World Cup medal and her first in downhill. She also won giant slalom gold in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, for the second win of her career on Jan. 6.

That hot stretch gives her confidence