Injured French athletes return to snow
French athletes Thomas Fanara and Taina Barioz have both returned to snow as they continue to recover from injuries sustained during the 2016-17 season.
After finishing in fourth place in the Val d’Isere giant slalom last December, Fanara received news that he suffered a tear to his right ACL, which he sustained during his second run. At the time, many people asked if he would hang up his skis. The 36-year-old World Cup veteran repeatedly assured fans that he had plans to return and he is doing just that.
He returned to the same ski are where he was injured and got back on skis on the Pissaillas Glacier. Fanara is a giant slalom specialist with 100 World Cups starts to his name, 11 podium finishes and one World Cup victory.
His teammate, Barioz, also returned to snow this week with a few runs at Val d’Isere. The Frenchwoman suffered knee pain most of the early season, which started with summer training in Argentina and prevented her from competing in Soelden. Eventually, Barioz suffered an ACL tear at Semmering, Austria, when she crashed in challenging, foggy conditions. She underwent surgery at the start of the new year, and has been getting stronger ever since.
Barioz has started in 125 World Cups and earned two podium finishes, most recently a second-place finish at the St. Moritz World Cup giant slalom in 2016.