Sad certainty for Thomas Aasen Markeng

After Thomas Aasen Markeng underwent an x-ray examination in Klingenthal after his serious crash last weekend, the reigning World Champion now had further medical checks at home in Norway.
An MRT exam in Oslo now brought the bad news: Markeng sustained an ACL tear in his left knee and the meniscus is damaged as well.

This means that the season is over for the young athlete: "Unfortunately, I have to assume that I'll be sidelined for a year. This is tough and hard, but I'll fight and come back. I've been through this before", Markeng said in a first statement.
"The damaged meniscus requires prompt surgery, the ligaments shall be reconstructed. The surgery is planned for tomorrow, Wednesday", explains Guri Ekas, the team doctor of the Norwegian ski jumpers.

"This is a difficult situation for Thomas, the other athletes, the coaching staff, Hope Norway and for me personally. It was a week with extreme ups and downs. Thomas achieved his career-best result a week ago in Nizhny Tagil after all the problems with his visa, and now we are standing here and have to deal with the fact that he will be out for such a long time", said Alexander Stoeckl, head coach of the Norwegian team.

Markeng won gold at the Junior World Championships in Lahti (FIN) in January and was among the world's best a week ago at the World Cup in Nizhny Tagil (RUS) with his career-best fifth place.