PARK CITY, Utah (AP)--Olympic gold medalist Picabo Street returned to the ski slopes Monday about 21 months after a horrific crash during a World Cup downhill event.
Street skied much of the morning at Park City Mountain Resort, her first time back on the hill since breaking her left leg and rupturing ligaments in her right knee in Switzerland on March 13, 1998.
``I felt kind of behind all morning until I got to the top of the run,'' she said. ``Then I got excited. I knew I was going to run. It came out of nowhere and hit me like a ton of bricks.''
After wiping away a few tears, Street cut soft turns as she skied at a steady recreational pace, well below racing speeds.
``I was really surprised at how my legs felt. I was missing some of those extra little muscles but the core structure of my skiing form is intact,'' said Street, the gold medalist in the super-G at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.
Street plans to spend this season doing light workouts and promotional skiing at Park City, where she works. She hopes to return to the World Cup circuit next year.
``I'm not ready to be running into gates or anything like that, but it's not too far off,'' Street said.
Copyright 1999 AP
