Daniel Albrecht

Daniel Albrecht

— Alpine skier —
Disciplines	Downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom, combined
Club	Fiesch Eggishorn
Born	(1983-05-25) 25 May 1983 Fiesch, Valais, Switzerland
Height
World Cup debut	23 January 2003 (age 19)
Website	Daniel-Albrecht.ch
Olympics
Teams	1 – (2006)
Medals	0
World Championships
Teams	3 – (2003, 2005, 2007)
Medals	3 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	7 – (2005–09, 2011–12)
Wins	4 – (3 GS, 1 SC)
Podiums	8 – (1 DH, 4 GS, 1 SL, 2 SC)
Overall titles	0 – (7th in 2008)
Discipline titles	0 – (3rd in K, 2008)
Medal record Men's alpine skiing Representing Switzerland World Championships 2007 Åre Combined 2007 Åre Giant slalom 2007 Åre Team event Junior World Ski Championships 2003 Serre Chevalier Downhill 2003 Serre Chevalier Giant slalom 2003 Serre Chevalier Combined 2003 Serre Chevalier Slalom

Daniel Albrecht (born 25 May 1983) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. He was a world champion in super combined in 2007, but was severely injured in a training run in 2009.

Racing career

Born in Fiesch in the canton of Valais, Albrecht made his World Cup debut at age 19 in January 2003 in a slalom at Schladming, Austria. A few weeks later, he competed in the slalom at the 2003 World Championships at St. Moritz. That March, he won three gold medals and a silver at the Junior World Championships at Serre Chevalier, France.

At the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden, Albrecht won the gold medal in the super combined event, and took the silver medal in the giant slalom. A month later he made his first World Cup podium, a second place finish in the downhill at Lenzerheide. Eight months later he won his first World Cup race, a super combined held in Beaver Creek, Colorado, followed by a giant slalom victory three days later.

As of January 2014, Albrecht has 4 World Cup victories, 8 podiums, and 22 top ten finishes

Hahnenkammrennen injury

At Kitzbühel, Austria, on Thursday, 22 January 2009, Albrecht crashed in the final downhill training run on the Hahnenkamm's Streif course; he sustained brain and lung trauma and was placed in an induced coma. Albrecht, the fifth racer on the course, was traveling at 138 km/h (86 mph) when he lost control on the final jump (Zielsprung) and flew through the air for about 70 m (230 ft). He landed on his back, bounced forward onto his knees, then his face, and came to a stop near the finish line. Unconscious, Albrecht received medical attention for about 20 minutes before being airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in nearby St. Johann. He was later transferred to the university hospital in Innsbruck.

Two days later, Dr. Wolfgang Koller announced that the risk on Albrecht's life was decreasing. Dr. Markus Wambacher said that the pressure inside his head was lessening and that he could make a full recovery. He also stated that Albrecht had problems with his knees and stomach. Albrecht was removed from the induced coma after three weeks, on 12 February. Doctors reported that he was breathing on his own.

Recovery

Albrecht expectedly missed the remainder of the 2009 season but had recovered sufficiently to train with the Swiss ski team in October, less than nine months after the crash. Still not ready for World Cup competition, he sat out the 2010 season, missing the Winter Olympics.

He returned to the World Cup circuit in the giant slalom at Beaver Creek, Colorado, on 5 December 2010, and finished 21st. Albrecht raced his first speed event of his comeback at Wengen, Switzerland on 14 January 2011, the downhill portion of the super combined on a shortened Lauberhorn course. He missed a gate just after the high-speed Hannegschuss, about fifteen seconds from the finish, and safely skied off of the course.

Knee injury

During a training run for the Lake Louise downhill in November 2012, Albrecht crashed and suffered a dislocated left kneecap with torn ligaments. He underwent surgery in Switzerland and will likely miss the 2013 season.

World Cup results

Race podiums

• 4 wins – (3 GS, 1 SC)
• 8 podiums – (1 DH, 4 GS, 1 SL, 2 SC)

Season	Date	Location	Discipline	Place
2007	2007 World Championships
	14 Mar 2007	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Downhill	2nd
2008	29 Nov 2007	Beaver Creek, USA	Super combined	1st
	2 Dec 2007		Giant slalom	1st
	5 Jan 2008	Adelboden, Switzerland	Giant slalom	2nd
	11 Jan 2008	Wengen, Switzerland	Super combined	2nd
	15 Mar 2008	Bormio, Italy	Slalom	2nd
2009	26 Oct 2008	Sölden, Austria	Giant slalom	1st
	21 Dec 2008	Alta Badia, Italy	Giant slalom	1st

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Slalom	Giant  slalom	Super-G	Downhill	Combined
2005	21	53	34	43	–	–	4
2006	22	50	26	30	–	–	36
2007	23	27	22	20	31	30	18
2008	24	7	18	5	23	43	3
2009	25	20	55	7	23	22	18
2010	26	Did not compete, severely injured in January 2009
2011	27	140	–	42	–	–	—
2012	28	152	–	52	–	–	–
2013	29	Did not compete, injured left knee in November 2012

Videos

• YouTube video – Daniel Albrecht – training run crash at Kitzbühel – 22 Jan 2009
• YouTube video – Daniel Albrecht – returns in GS at Alta Badia – 19 Dec 2010

External links

• Daniel Albrecht at the International Ski Federation
• FIS-ski.com – World Cup season standings – Daniel Albrecht
• Ski-db.com – results – Daniel Albrecht
• Sports-Reference.com – Olympic results – Daniel Albrecht
• Head Skis – teams – Daniel Albrecht
• Swiss Ski team – official site – (German)
• Daniel-Albrecht.ch – personal site – (German)