Alpine skiing: The emotional return of comeback king Thomas Dreßen

As of 3:13 p.m | Reading time: 4 minutes

In the shadow of the mountain giants Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, Thomas Dreßen with start number four threw himself down the longest descent the Ski World Cup has to offer. With sections of the route that have names such as Minsch Kante, Hundschop and Haneggschuss. 4.5 kilometers with an altitude difference of more than 1000 meters, where ski racers like Dreßen reach record speeds of up to 160 km/h in the two and a half minutes to the finish.

The Lauberhorn descent near Wengen in Switzerland is a classic, a myth with thousands of fans at the finish line – and this Saturday it was the scene for the next comeback of the best German speed driver: After another injury break, Dreßen returned to what is probably the biggest sporting event in the world Switzerland back in the World Cup. There could hardly have been a better place. “It’s incredible for me, just so nice to be here again,” he said emotionally after the race. The return comes just in time for the 2018 Kitzbühel winner to get himself in top form for the World Championships in France from February 6th to 19th.

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Rosi Mittermaier († 72)

He skipped the Super-G at the start of the World Cup weekend on Friday. When he returned, the following applied: full concentration on the descent and not rushing anything despite the challenging Lauberhorn piste. The good thing: Dreßen wasn’t under any pressure when it came to qualifying for the World Championships, having already qualified after finishing eighth in Lake Louise in November. In Wengen, 21st place when Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde won was irrelevant. “For me, the top priority was to have fun again, to build up feelings, to absorb the whole thing. I’m super happy,” said Dreßen on ARD. It’s not difficult to guess what difficult times lie behind him. “I cried at the start, and now I shed tears again,” he said. “It’s pretty emotional for me. I haven’t had the whole thing here for two years, just beautiful.”

“I fell into a hole”

The 29-year-old Bavarian is familiar with comebacks. After triumphing on the legendary Streif in Kitzbühel in winter 2018 and a little later in Kvitfjell (Norway) with his second World Cup victory, a fall ended all further hopes for the time being: In November 2018 he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in Beaver Creek Knee. A year later, he made a brilliant comeback by winning the Lake Louise downhill race. And then this: In preparation for the 2020/2021 season, a training session ended with a hip operation. Although Dreßen got back on his feet for the World Cup that winter, his knee gave out and a complicated operation followed.

He took a lot of time with the rehab, but never completely gave up hopes of an Olympic start in Beijing in 2022. But there wasn’t enough time – and he didn’t want to risk anything. It was a long period of suffering that not only left its mark on the body. In autumn 2022, the Bavarian reported that he was ready and fit again (“I was able to train really well”), but he also said: “A good year ago I fell mentally into a hole. I was a bit negative and in a bad mood, didn’t feel like doing anything anymore, although I’m not one of the quiet guys.” He sought help from a sports psychologist with whom he has been working for a long time. And: He was able to rely on his private environment and his partners during the injury break.

Dreßen has worked its way out of the low and the optimism at the start of the season seemed justified. After almost two years of World Cup abstinence, he finally reported back in Lake Louise with eighth place. But after the strong start things went downhill: 31st, 24th, 37th and 45th place. That was where the fun went, as Dreßen admitted. In mid-December, a muscle injury in his right thigh forced him to take another break.

Now Dreßen is back. He can make comebacks.

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