18-year-old Austrian cross-country skier Katharina Engelhardt has announced her retirement from professional skiing following two cardiac arrests. | Credit: A Bola Newspaper
18-year-old Austrian skier Katharina Engelhardt has officially retired from cross-country skiing after two cardiac arrests. The promising young cross-country skier made the decision to retire following a cardiac arrest during a training session, which left her in a coma for four days.
Engelhardt is now focusing on recovery, school, and new interests “Unfortunately, competitive sports will no longer play a role in my life,” the 18-year-old skiing prodigy wrote in her Instagram announcement.
It all started during a training session in July 29, where Engelhardt collapsed. Quick rescue actions and telephone guidance from the Red Cross ultimately saved her life. She was resuscitated over a period of 40 minutes before being taken to a hospital in Linz, Austria. Doctors determined she had suffered cardiac arrest.
At the hospital, she suffered a second cardiac arrest. Doctors placed her in a coma for four days.
“I wasn’t told until later that I had suffered two cardiac arrests and had been in a deep coma for four days,” Engelhardt wrote on a social media post alongside a picture of her in a hospital bed.
Katharina Engelhardt now shifts her focus to recovery and school following her cardiac arrests. | Credit: Katharina Engelhardt Instagram
Medical examinations determined the cause of her cardiac arrests to be myocarditis; an inflammation of the heart muscle that reduces the heart’s ability to pump blood following an infection. She spent time in the intensive care unit to stabilize before returning home.
“Even the excellent doctors in Linz thought I wouldn’t make it. But they were wrong, because I did make it,” Engelhardt wrote. “Above all, I’m grateful to Heli and Rose, who resuscitated me. I’m also very grateful to the doctors, because without them, I wouldn’t have made it either.”
Engelhardt was a promising rookie in the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV). She had been competing in International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) events since 2023, including junior races, European Youth Olympics, and Austrian National Championships.
The best finish of her career came at the 2026 Austrian National Championships in Saalfelden, where she placed second in the sprint category.
Today, Engelhardt carefully follows a structured plan as she continues to recover. In the mornings, she watches movies, reads, or spends time on her phone. Afternoons are filled with visits from friends or time with family, and she can manage many everyday tasks independently again, according to ProXCSkiing. When doing recovery exercises like lifting weights, she is cautious: “Otherwise my heart rate rises too fast,” she said.
The 18-year-old will spend about three more weeks at her home in Ramsau am Dachstein, and then will head to a three-week rehabilitation program.
In the week before the incident, Engelhardt was dealing with a cold, which she had described as being “completely normal.” She felt she had almost fully recovered before returning to training and did not feel any specific symptoms that would have pointed out that something serious would occur.
Now, she is advocating that her fellow athletes be very careful before returning to sports after feeling sick.
“First of all, I hope something like this never happens again. Above all, athletes should be careful if they don’t feel well and shouldn’t let a coach pressure them to start training again. After a more serious infection — even if it’s rare — it’s better to see a doctor,” she said on her Instagram.
Currently, Engelhardt is taking small steps to find a new meaning for success. “In a year it will certainly look different. But the definition of success will definitely not be the same as it was in elite sport,” she told ProXCSkiing.
In the meantime, she is focused on finishing school and completing her secondary school exit tests before figuring out what is next.