Olympic ski champion Michelle Gisin airlifted after downhill crash in latest setback for Swiss team

Two-time Olympic champion Michelle Gisin was airlifted from the course by helicopter Thursday after crashing hard in a practice run for a World Cup downhill in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Gisin is the third current Olympic champion in the Switzerland women's alpine ski team to crash in training in the last month, after Lara Gut-Behrami and Corinne Suter.

The 32-year-old Swiss hit the safety fences racing at more than 110 kph (69 mph) on a cloudy morning at St. Moritz in practice for downhills scheduled Friday and Saturday, then a super-G Sunday.

One of Gisin's skis seemed to catch an edge approaching a fast left-hand turn and she lost control going straight on, hitting through the first layer of safety nets until being stopped by the second.

There was no immediate report of any injury. Television pictures showed Gisin conscious lying by the course with scratches and cuts on her face as medics assessed her.

Gisin, who won gold in alpine combined at the past two Winter Games, is currently the veteran leader of the Swiss women's speed team because of injuries to her fellow 2022 Beijing Olympic champions.

Gut-Behrami's Olympic season was ended tearing the ACL in her left knee while crashing in practice last month at Copper Mountain, Colorado.

Suter is off skis for about a month with calf, knee and foot injures from a crash while training at St. Moritz last month.

At the last Winter Games in China, Suter won the downhill, Gut-Behrami won super-G — where Gisin took bronze — and Gisin took the final title in individual combined. The Swiss skiers have seven career Olympic medals.

Gisin crashed Thursday when United States star Lindsey Vonn was already on the course having started her practice run. Vonn was stopped while Gisin got