Ski star Kilde airlifted from downhill course after crashing hard at Wengen

Downhill star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde crashed hard into the fences within sight of the finish in the long Lauberhorn race in the World Cup on Saturday in Switzerland and seemed to have injured his right leg before being airlifted to a hospital.

Kilde, a two-time winner in downhill at Wengen, had lengthy treatment as he lay flat next to the finish line. Race workers strapped his right leg above the knee before a helicopter landed nearby to take him away.

Kilde is a two-time champion in the season-long World Cup downhill standings and the long-time partner of American ski star Mikaela Shiffrin.

Racing for the third straight day at Wengen, Kilde had been fighting an illness before placing third in a shorter downhill on Thursday and third again in a super-G on Friday.

Kilde was unbalanced on his skis approaching the final twisting S-shaped section about two minutes, 10 seconds into a tiring run, then made another error entering the left-hand turn down into the finish.

The 31-year-old Norwegian was launched off his skis and twisted in mid-air before crashing backward into course-side safety fences.

The race was led by Kilde's biggest rival in downhill, Swiss star Marco Odermatt, who also won Thursday on his Alpine nation's most storied course.

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