Maria Riesch of Germany gets back on snow{mosimage}Maria Riesch of Germany, the alpine skier whose rapid rise to stardom has been complicated by injuries, got back on snow this week at the Rettenbach glacier above Soelden, Austria.

"The knee held and I could ski without pain," said Riesch, who is considered one of skiing's biggest talents. "Altogether the skiing was a lot of fun. I am glad that the on snow Olympic preparation finally begins for me."

Riesch, who comes from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, blew the ACL in her right knee six months ago, just a few weeks after finishing on the podium in a World Cup super G in St. Moritz, Switzerland. That podium itself (on December 21), came just a month after Riesch fell while training in Colorado and injured her shoulder, forcing her to sit out the November World Cup races in Aspen.

The 20-year-old tore her ACL at Cortina in January. Team doctor Ernst-Otto Muench performed surgery and oversaw her rehabilitation.