foxsports
VIENNA (AP) The Austrian ski federation says Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer will get back on skis next week, seven months after breaking two vertebrae in a World Cup crash.
Wearing a protective air bag, Mayer spun around and flew down the hill backward before landing hard on his right side during the Dec. 19 downhill in Val Gardena, Italy.
It was the first time an air bag inflated during a World Cup race, prompting a debate among skiers whether Mayer's safety system caused the serious injury or prevented him from getting hurt even worse.
The federation says Mayer, who needed surgery and spent 11 days in the hospital, will return to training on snow at the Moelltaler glacier on Tuesday.
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