– You really notice how dependent you are on things when you damage them. You take many parts of the body for granted, says Ane Appelkvist Stenseth. On Thursday, she stopped by news at Marienlyst in Oslo to see a video that only a handful of people have previously seen. The national cross-country skier is himself the main character in the video, which almost by chance ended up on news’s camera during the recording of the WC evening during the Ski WC in Planica. The video is from 23 February, the day when the World Championships began with sprints, and shows what happened when the Norwegian sprint reserve had to go down the steep stairs from the second floor of the Norwegian lubrication trailer. “There must be no drama” High up the stairs, Stenseth loses his balance and falls to the ground. – Oh! exclaims news reporter Ida Nysæter Rasch. – No, no, no, no, Ane! What are you doing? shouts Brit Baldishol in the Norwegian support apparatus, as she comes running to help. Stenseth quickly jumps up again and gets into a car, as if nothing has happened. DIFFICULT SEASON: Ane Appelkvist Stenseth struggled to get things going in several races last season, but finished with a strong fifth place in the sprint in Lahti. Photo: Sergei Grits / AP – What I thought when I fell was that I saw you (news, editor’s note) standing there when I went up. And I thought that when I land, it must go well, there must be no drama. That was the only thing I was focused on, she says. – But was there drama? – There was a bit of drama, says Stenseth, and laughs. Because a couple of minutes after she got into the car, she started to feel pain in her left thumb. Severe pain. They didn’t give up either. Nevertheless, Stenseth completed the last four sprints in the World Cup. She felt that went well. But when she had to try the distance race in the NM part 2 at Tolga, it didn’t go so well. – I think perhaps I have not been completely honest about how painful it has been. I don’t think everyone has realized that it has actually been so painful, she says. Torn ligament An MRI examination after the NM explained why it hurts so much. The pictures indicate that one ligament has been completely torn and that another has been partially torn. In addition, the leg has received a strong push, so that the left thumb is simply shorter than the right at the moment. THUMB TROUBLE: When Ane Appelkvist Stenseth looks down at her thumbs, she sees that one is thicker and shorter than the other. It shouldn’t be like this. Photo: Fredrik Jullumstrø / news – I have been told that there is a high probability that there will be an operation to sew the ligament back, says Stenseth, who will get the final answer after a visit to the orthopedist on Thursday evening. The hope is that the operation can be carried out as quickly as possible, because afterwards there will be a period of alternative training – without poles. – It is not a lucky situation, considering that we will immediately start with a lot of roller ski training. But since it has happened, we must make the best of it. She can still roller ski without poles, or with one pole, and she can prioritize running, says national team coach Stig Rune Kveen to news. – Incredible “sticky boat”! He tries to turn it into something positive. – She has good strength and upper body capacity, but now she has to work hard on her technique, notes Kveen, who has not yet seen the fall. Although the stairs down from the trailer are steep and sometimes slippery, Ane Appelkvist Stenseth will not complain about safety. – It is steep, but you learn how to walk in it, even if it doesn’t look like it now. Damage almost never occurs in it, so it is certainly not the stairs’ fault, she says. – But you sometimes have to have your feet slightly tilted, because it’s narrow between the steps. That’s what happens when I nose, that I hook the heel of the shoe on the step behind and have too much speed to be able to adjust it in, says Stenseth, and smilingly passes the following verdict on the way it happened: – Incredible “sticky boat” »!
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This is where things go wrong in the middle of the World Cup – now surgery awaits Ane Appelkvist Stenseth – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
