Petra Vlhova to miss rest of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics with ankle injury

Alpine skiing star Petra Vlhova won't race again at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

The Olympic slalom champion is forced to sit out next week's combined event due to "persistent pain in her inflamed left ankle tendon" and will leave Beijing early, the Slovakian Olympic Committee said on Sunday (13 February).

"Having reached her goal of gold in the slalom and considering this small physical problem, we are putting the priority on her next goals and we don’t want to risk making things worse by aiming for a medal in the combined," Vlhova's coach Mauro Pini told The Associated Press.

The Slovak, who became her country's first Olympic medallist in the sport, had skipped both the Super G and the first downhill training run.

Vlhova will now spend a few days home in Liptvosky Mikulas to "share the Olympic emotions with those closest to her," Pini added.

The 26-year-old, who already claimed the slalom globe, is still in contention for the World Cup overall title as she trails leader Mikaela Shiffrin by just 17 points with a few more weeks of racing after the Olympics.