Today, Julia Mancuso is going under the knife. After trying everything short of surgery to help stabilize her ailing hip, The Olympic gold medalist has opted to undergo season-ending surgery instead of pushing through the pain and racing this year.
The surgery will take place at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado.
In an US Ski Team release, Mancuso said, “If I were to try to push through, get more treatments and try to ski this season, I would just be setting myself back toward the real goal, which is PyeongChang 2018.” Mancuso hopes to be freeskiing in March but that all “depends on the outcome of the surgery.”
Kyle Wilkins, who serves as the US Ski Team’s Medical Director had nothing but positive things to say about the decision. “Julia has taken a very smart approach to her hip injury,” said Wilkins. “We used this year’s prep season to exhaust all conservative treatment” and  “unfortunately, those efforts were not successful and she has elected to go forth with surgery.”
