Petra Vlhová Returns to Olympics After Two-Year Injury

Petra Vlhová on the podium for second place. Photo by
Rolandhino1, check file page for exact CC license (e.g., BY-SA 4.0) via
Wikimedia Commons.

Petra Vlhová, the Slovak Alpine skiing champion and 2022 Olympic gold
medalist in slalom, made her return to competitive skiing at the Milano
Cortina 2026 Winter Games on February 10, competing in the women's team
combined event after a two-year absence caused by a severe knee injury,
according to Olympics.com. "I'm happy that I can be here," Vlhová
said following the event. "I'm happy I could. From the two years it's
a long without racing. I am proud of myself that I could."

Vlhová suffered tears to both her anterior cruciate ligament and medial
cruciate ligament in her right knee in January 2024, an injury that
ended her season immediately and kept her away from competition for the
entirety of the 2024–2025 ski season. Her return at Milano Cortina
marked her first competitive start since that injury.

The Road Back to Competition

Rehabilitation from a combined ACL and MCL tear is among the more
demanding recovery processes in alpine skiing, a sport that places
extreme rotational and compressive loads on the knee. Vlhová worked
through her recovery over the course of two full years before returning
to the starting gate at Milano Cortina, according to Olympics.com.

The team combined event on February 10 gave her a competitive starting
point rather than placing her immediately into an individual race
format. While she did not complete the slalom portion of the event, her
participation alone represented the culmination of the rehabilitation
process she had committed to since the January 2024 injury.

A Gold Medal Benchmark

Vlhová enters this chapter of her career against the backdrop of one of
the most celebrated individual performances in recent Winter Olympics
history. Her slalom gold at the 2022 Beijing Games — won by a margin
that left no question about the result — established her as one of the
defining Alpine skiers of her generation.

Her return at Milano Cortina arrived without the expectation of
replicating that performance immediately. The significance of her
participation was the return itself — reaching the starting line after
two years away, completing the recovery process, and competing again at
the Olympic level she had reached at her best.

References: Winter Olympics 2026 Petra Vlhova Exclusive Comeback Proud | 11 Olympians Comeback Trail Ahead Milan Cortina 2026