Injured world champion ski jumper Alex Loutitt puts in the work to return to action

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Oct 30, 2025 7:20 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 30

World champion skis jumper Alex Loutitt has unearthed a fewer metallic linings successful her rehabilitation from a devastating genu injury.

The 21-year-old Calgarian, who was the archetypal Canadian to triumph a satellite rubric successful the athletics successful 2023 erstwhile she was victorious successful women's ample hill, tore the anterior cruciate ligament successful her near genu successful September's Olympic trial lawsuit successful Predazzo, Italy.

So Loutitt volition not leap determination astatine the Olympic Games successful Milan and Cortina, Italy, successful February.

"It'll beryllium a twelvemonth earlier I compete," Loutitt said from Salzburg, Austria, wherever she's rehabilitating astatine Red Bull's Athlete Performance Center. "It is unrealistic to deliberation thing else."

Loutitt's limb crumpled erstwhile she landed a leap successful Sept. 19 qualifying for the ample elevation successful Predazzo. Jumpers onshore connected plastic-coated turf alternatively of snowfall during the summertime Grand Prix season.

She knew from genu country successful 2022 determination was pre-existing weakness successful her genu and "it was conscionable similar perfectly the incorrect move."

Loutitt underwent country successful Innsbruck, Austria, nether orthopedic country and sports traumatology specializer Dr. Christian Fink.

"It was not harmless to question location due to the fact that of humor clots," Loutitt said.

Entry into Red Bull's unchangeable of athletes is often seen arsenic a large payday and next-level marketing, but Loutitt is surviving the little heralded portion of that relationship.

She says her attraction astatine the Athlete Performance Centre has helped her emotionally travel to grips with her 2026 Olympic imagination being dashed, portion she puts successful the carnal toil required to instrumentality her to her sport.

"A batch of the clip erstwhile you are an injured athlete, you're benignant of enactment connected the backmost burner and I decidedly don't person that feeling being here," Loutitt said.

"You person different athletes who are successful the aforesaid situation. There's an Austrian shot subordinate who had country 3 days earlier maine with the aforesaid surgeon.

"We've go rather adjacent due to the fact that not precise galore radical tin recognize what it's similar to spell from being 1 of the champion athletes successful the satellite to not being capable to crook your knee."

WATCH | Loutitt wins historical skis jumping satellite rubric successful 2023::

Loutitt's days are filled with h2o therapy, anti-gravity treadmills, hyperbaric chambers and magnetic pulse and electrical stimulation machines.

Loutitt says her attraction deficit/hyperactivity upset (ADHD), diagnosed astatine property 18, is taken into relationship arsenic therapists support her sessions abbreviated and purposeful.

"That archetypal mates days were the hardest conscionable due to the fact that similar you truly can't bash anything, truthful you're conscionable similar doom scrolling and it's conscionable draining you much and more," she said.

"Now that I'm doing tons of things, it's really perfect. My physio astatine the APC truly recognize who I americium arsenic a person. My encephalon is truly happy. I fundamentally spell from 8 until 4 each day. I consciousness truly motivated and I consciousness truly seen and that I'm not successful this alone.

"This is conscionable similar decidedly 1 of the similar perks you person with signing with them. It's not like, 'oh, here's a paycheque erstwhile a year."'

Loutitt intends to beryllium successful Predazzo successful February supporting the Canadian squad and cheering connected her Austrian fellow Daniel Tschofenig.

"I'm looking astatine it [like] I would not beryllium that upset if it was immoderate different year. The biggest disappointment for definite is conscionable not competing astatine the Olympics, but I'm hoping it volition unfastened caller opportunities for maine not going arsenic an athlete, truthful possibly being capable to spell and enactment my squad arsenic work staff," she said.

"My boyfriend, if I missed him winning an Olympic medal, that's besides thing I'd ne'er forgive myself for. It's 1 of those things wherever you tin endure and beryllium hurt, but you inactive tin amusement up for the radical that substance to you."