Czech skier Tereza Nova awoken from induced coma four weeks after fall

Czech skier Tereza Nova has been brought out of an induced coma, four weeks after undergoing brain surgery to treat injuries she sustained in a heavy fall during a training run.

The 27-year-old, who competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics, fell on 24 January during her preparations for that week’s women’s World Cup downhill in the German resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

She is now in a stable condition and will be transported home, the Czech ski federation said.

“We still have a long way to go, but I am convinced that we will make it,” Nova’s partner and national ski coach Ondrej Berndt said.

“Together with Tereza’s parents, we would like to thank everyone for the support we are receiving, and at the same time ask for respect for the privacy and peace that Tereza will need during her recovery.”

Nova was airlifted from the ski slope to hospital, where she was diagnosed with a severe traumatic brain injury with bleeding, a carotid artery injury and a fracture in the eye socket.

After two weeks doctors gradually began awakening Nova by reducing her medication.

She finished 28th in the Olympic downhill in Beijing 2022 and had competed at three World Cups this season before her accident.