Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Says He's "Gutted" After Achilles Rupture
“WHAT THE F…”
So begins an update from decorated Norwegian ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who, still relatively fresh off a prolonged recovery after hurting his calf and shoulder, recently fell and ruptured his Achilles tendon while training in Chile.
The Associated Press reported that the Norwegian Ski Association said last Thursday that Kilde was “now traveling home to Innsbruck (his base in Austria) for further medical examinations and assessment of treatment options with his trusted medical team.”
Gutted, angry, and frustrated after the string of injuries, Kilde, 34, took to Instagram to give fans a look into how he was feeling, also posting photos with his fiancée, fellow ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin.
“For a long time it has been all about recovering and getting back to where I was. Lately that had finally shifted. I was faster, I improved, and I felt better on my skis than I had in a long time. More importantly, I was having more fun on skis than I’d had in years,” he wrote, adding, “Then this happens. It’s brutal, and it’s hard to accept.”
He said he needs time to process the latest injury but noted that what’s different this time “is that I have a clear rehab roadmap, and that helps.”
“It won’t be easy,” he continued, “but I’ll focus on what I can control and lean on the people who have my back.”
A two-time Olympic medalist, Kilde won silver in combined and bronze in super-G at the 2022 Beijing Games. In January 2024, he crashed in a downhill race in Switzerland, suffering nerve damage to his right calf and eventually undergoing shoulder reconstruction surgery, which was complicated by an infection.
Kilde managed to race during the 2025-26 World Cup season but decided not to compete at the latest Olympics, noting that his mind and body were not performing the way he needed them to.
In his recent post, Kilde didn’t provide a timeline for his recovery, saying that “I’ll keep you posted.” A ruptured Achilles tendon usually takes between four and six months to heal, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and it can take up to a year to safely resume playing sports or engaging in intense physical activities.
“I’ve never been one to feel sorry for myself,” Kilde wrote. “My parents taught me to focus on solutions: if you can change something, do it. If you can’t, accept it or let it go.”
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