Street Delays Surgery, Ponders Racing Future

Picabo Street has returned to her home in Portland to allow a broken left leg to heal after deciding to delay surgery on her right knee, according to Dr. Richard Steadman.

“She’ll be able to walk with a brace on her right knee while her left leg gets stronger,” Steadman said in a news release Friday. “We’ll pick a time for surgery based on how well her left leg is doing.”

Street fractured her left femur and ruptured her right anterior cruciate knee ligament in a 60-mph spill at the World Cup Finals in Crans Montana, Switzerland, earlier this month.

She put herself under Steadman’s care at the Vail Valley Medical Center immediately, and spent most of last week there.

“Peek’s spirits are excellent,” Steadman said. “But since we’re going to wait for the swelling to go down in her right knee before we operate, she decided to go home. That’s a smart decision.”

Brad Hunt, an agent for the Olympic gold medalist, said earlier she might miss all of next season to recover, and retirement was not out of the question.

“Racing next year and racing again are not necessarily the same question,” Hunt said earlier.

Street, 27, also was treated by Steadman in December 1996 when he repaired her left knee after an injury. She recovered from that injury more quickly then expected, but Hunt said she may take a different approach this time, since the next Olympics are four years away.