For all the Wallisch lovers out there, an insight into his season

maybe if he hit the gym before prior to that happening it wouldn't have happened. He is an athlete and he should treat his body like gold and keep it in shape.
 
great video put together by 4bi9, I know napes and aj put alot into it, very good insight into what tom's life has been like the past 6 months
 
wow, guess that confirms what a lot of people were thinking. super bummer he didnt make the team.
 
Tom Wallisch is the fucking man!

I thought it was impressive that Dumont did 1 pipe run without an ACL, to find out that Tom's been not only skiing, not only competing, but placing top 10 consistently without an ACL since October is ridiculous. I've always looked up to and respected Tom, but this brings it to a whole new level. What a warrior.

Oh, and 4bi9 media did a pretty good job with the video too, haha.
 
Wow, what a great video, although heartbreaking :'(. To work so hard, fighting through the injury pursuing his dream. He just about had it. Toms a true Champion. Greatest of all time.
 
NO! Don't put emphasis on these guys skiing on injured knees. When you tear your ACL, you rest it till it's 100%. You don't go out there and continuously weaken it until it takes way longer to heal and maybe causes some permanent damage. I look up to you Tom, but really? Did the video say 6 weeks after tearing your ACL you were back on skis? C'mon man, let they knee rest and then go hard the last couple of contests. It is not unmanly to let the knee rest. From the perspective of someone who's fucked there knee twice, I hate it when people on this site glorify people skiing on injured knees.
 
Fuck the US Freeski coaches my boy Tom is being CONSTANTLY consistent on all the stops to the Olympics with a fucking torn ACL you've got to be kidding me..

Not disrespecting Joss at all that guy completely crushes it skiing but frustrates me about their decision.
 
Why should he? He's right in a way.

Why not do extra exercises to prevent a knee issue in the future, instead of waiting until it happens to take any action. Sure the exercise does not eliminate all of the risk, but having your muscles as strong as possible around your knee goes a long way in preventing injury.
 
you can be a completely functional athlete without an ACL. with the proper strengthening, the quad/hamstring can almost accomplish what the ACL did, which is stop forward motion. with the help of a brace and strengthening exercises, a lot is possible. for example, dajuan blair is a center in the NBA and has 2 permanently torn ACLs.
 
Pretty crazy to see Tom shredding so hard on a torn ACL. Hopefully next year he will come back better than ever. But its also crazy to see Russ Henshaw skiing on a torn ACL and PK Hunder skiing on two torn ACL's.
 
I'm sure Tom was doing more than enough to stay in solid athletic shape. Not all exercise need to or should take place in the gym either...
 
Don't forget Russ Henshaw has also been skiing without an ACL... Not so sure it is smart but hey what era floats your boat... Guess 7 knee surgeries makes me a little more on the protect the longevity of your knee instead of looking for short term results.
 
Your ACL is attached to your tibia and keeps it from sliding forward. While the some upper leg muscles have attachments to the tibia as well, they can never provide the same support as the ACL, that being its main function. It's not worth it to chance permanently messing up one of the most important ligaments in the body, just because you wanted to ski as soon as possible. While it is possible to be functional without it, (but in a lot of pain on crashes) why would you want to?
 
Ive been skiing at a pretty high level for the past two years with both of my ACLs and MCLs blown... As long as youre strong enough, it works. Not smart necessarily, but you can do it.
 
Amazing editing. Usually with ten minute videos, I'm just waiting for it end because it's just be going on and on, but this just felt like five minutes. Such a shame he didn't make it on the team. He arguably deserved it more than anyone.
 
yeh its stupid to ski on injured knees, but it seems as though it was his one shot at making it to sochi and that is an incredibly hard decision to make. Props to tom he would have definitely regretted it if he didn't give it a shot, at least he knows he tried.

Such a sad story, knees suck

 
Are you kidding me?

Dude way to not understand at all why he choose to compete this year. Don't compare yourself to someone whose livelihood and career depends on skiing, two completely different situations and circumstances.

I can't believe what I just read, you're retarded.
 
Why can't I compare myself? We both have knees. He should have skipped the dew tour and waited until the last 2 events to be 100% and kill it.
 
At least he has an ACL. DeJuan Blair of the Dallas Mavericks has neither of his. I cant imagine this injury taking too much away from him.
 
No, but my point is that it wont hinder him too much. If a man carrying 260 pounds on his knees and his sport involves running, jumping, and general pressure on his knees, I cant imagine Tom wont rebound quickly.
 
several hall of fame athletes played most of their careers without ACLs.

also, why would you want to? tom is 26 and is in the prime of his career, and wants to ski for the US in the olympics. he most likely won't ever get the chance if he didn't try this year.
 
That really sucks but he has a good attitude about it. It must be killer for him to see all the olympic commercials that he's shown in...
 
One of the best edits I have ever seen. For someone to go out there and try to ski without an ACL is the true act of a champion. Thanks Tom for everything you have done for this sport. Hope the knee heals up.
 
I'm not saying he should have taken the year off. I'm saying he should have skipped the dew tour and only stuck to the last 2 or so events and thrown down hard in those. Because he has been trying to throw down all season, he's probably never had his knee at 100%.
 
IYou can't compare yourself because I doubt that you had a shot at going to the Olympics to represent your country. Doing that is probably the thing Tom has wanted the most since the announcement of slopestyle's inclusion in Sochi a few years back. He knew he had a really good shot at making the team and that this would probably be his only chance to ever go to the olympics. He has already won more or less every other comp there is to win and the Olympic medal would be the Holy Grail of most athletes' prize collection. I don't think he could have forgiven himself for meekly passing up the chance to do something that great, knowing that it was fully possible to slay without an ACL. I know I wouldn't. If this was just any regular season he probably would've taken time off to recover.

TL;DR: When you have had to decide between skiing injured or missing your one shot at going to the Olympics, then we'll talk!
 
Mad respect for Tom. As I was getting into Freeskiing around the age of 14 I remember him just winning superunknown and having some shots in Realtime. Looked up to him for a long time and have watched him become the best! He deserves a spot in the Olympics but I know that he will do great things otherwise.
 
Oh, so that's what you meant? Sounds way more reasonable than what we interpreted your first comment as, but I still don't think that strategy would have improved his chances. He needed two podiums in qualifying events to make the team, and it's damn near impossible to achieve that when coming back from a long brake. Better in that case to keep your form up, even if it damages your knee some
 
I liked how you included a TL;DR, since my internet attention span is pretty low. But read my comment above yours. Torin skipped out on events because he was injured and still made the team and so could have Tom. Anyways I'm done with the internet for tonight.
 
Up most respect for Tom, he clearly worked so hard to try and achieve Sochi, although he may have not made it, it's a success in its own right that he overcame his knee and competed to attempt it
 
he's a legend to say the least, trying my best not to repeat what everyone is saying but I'm SO bummed he's not going. he's clearly put in so much work and time into healing back up and pushing through the pain. on a side note, huge ups to the filmers and editors of this vid, very well put together.
 
You do realize an ACL tear requires surgery right... and had he got the surgery in october when he tore his ACL he would of been out this whole season....

Again you have no idea what you're talking about. Tom has to pay bills, his life is skiing, and this could be his only shot at going to the Olympics. You aren't in his shoes, maybe if you tried to be you wouldn't be so critical and close minded.
 
This is such a dumb post. Rest an ACL, huh? So that somehow magically an area that gets next to no blood flow will magically repair a ligament that can only be repaired with surgery? Oh, ok. I'm genuinely curious how you've decided that resting a torn, unhealable ligament will significantly change anything.

He didn't do his meniscus or MCL. His ACL is already torn, damage done—you just can't "continuously weaken" a torn ligament. After 6 weeks, you are almost guaranteed to have full range of motion, limited (if any) swelling, and a lot less pain and discomfort. Some professional athletes who tear their ACL's opt to not have them repaired because they're so well conditioned and strong that the lapse in stability after the tear is borderline negligible as quads, hamstrings and stabilizer muscles can for some do the ACL's job.

So, please, tell me what Tom was at risk to do? Double tear his already shredded ACL? Even if he sustained damage to his MCL or meniscus in a separate crash, both would be fixed simultaneously along with the ACL.

The guy made his life for the last 4-5 years all about achieving this particular goal that frankly, looks quite a bit less likely to become a reality in 2018. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with his decision to compete and make a run at Sochi. I respect his choice and his willingness to persevere through the adversity. I just can't understand how you or anyone would want to indict him over this.

He had every opportunity in the world to play up his injury and justify his less than typical finishes with his knee, and he didn't. The most popular skier in the sport managed to keep his injury essentially a total secret. Clearly, he didn't want it to be a distraction and a constant source of sympathy and speculation.

Hope to see Wallisch back with a vengeance next year.
 
Tom if you're reading this, get that shit repaired. Better to spend 6 months doing intense rehab than risk making it worse. Think of the long term. Also powder landings are nice.
 
US freskiing team uses him as their poster child then don't send him to Sochi after all he's been through. Messed up. Much respect to Tom.
 
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