Norwegian biathlete Martin Uldal has revealed details of a dramatic accident that occurred during a skiing trip in the offseason. After a heavy fall, he suffered a concussion and temporarily lost parts of his memory.
“I was quite scared because it felt like having severe dementia while going through it,” Uldal admitted.
The incident happened around two weeks ago while he was skiing with his girlfriend, fellow biathlete Gro Randby.
“We were skiing on hard snow when there was suddenly a patch of loose snow on a slope that I didn’t see. I crashed and hit my head hard,” he explained.
Memory loss after the fall
The couple had already been skiing for around three hours when the accident happened. After the fall, Uldal suddenly could no longer remember where he was or why they were skiing.
Randby quickly called emergency services.
“Gro told me we were guided to a mountain cabin. Then the Red Cross arrived, and we were transported by snowmobile to the ambulance. I’m extremely grateful for the help we received,” said the Norwegian athlete.
Doctors later diagnosed him with a concussion. At first, he could not remember anything from the previous month.
“When my memory started coming back in the hospital, I moved my toes and felt incredibly thankful that I wasn’t paralyzed. That shows how little control I felt I had at the time.”
Even now, he still cannot remember several hours surrounding the accident.
“I still remember nothing from shortly before the crash until I was already in the hospital. There are a few completely blank hours.”
Coaches will closely monitor his recovery
Uldal is now feeling much better and has already resumed preparations for the upcoming season.
He explained that he avoided major post-concussion symptoms such as severe headaches or nausea. During the first week, he stayed calm and completely avoided screens.
The Norwegian coaching staff is closely monitoring his condition.
“He has to be careful. Athletes are often eager to return quickly, and our role is sometimes to slow them down. The most important thing is his health,” coach Anders Øverby said.
Another coach, Patrick Oberegger, stressed that such injuries should never be underestimated.
“We’ve seen situations like this before, for example with Karoline Knotten. It’s our responsibility to make sure everything is truly okay.”
Uldal himself admitted he will take things slowly at the start of training:
“I probably won’t train at full volume right away. I need to gradually build things back up.”
