Mikaela Shiffrin was taken to hospital following a crash in the women’s downhill at an FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

The American is one of the most recognisable skiers in the world as a two-time Olympic gold medallist, while last week in Jasna, Slovakia, she claimed a record-extending 95th career World Cup win.

But she lost control inside the first 20 seconds of her run on Friday and seemed to suffer an injury to her left knee after a heavy collision with the net hoarding surrounding the race slope.

The US Ski and Snowboard Team said on X, formerly Twitter: “@MikaelaShiffrin was taken by ambulance to the clinic in Cortina and is being evaluated for a left leg injury.

“Initial analysis shows the ACL and PCL seem intact. Further details to come.”

Shiffrin later posted an image on Instagram, showing ice on her left knee, and said she felt “pretty sore”.

The 28-year-old ruled herself out of competing in Tuesday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup in Kronplatz, Italy as she waits to discover the full extent of the injury.

“At this point I’m just taking it day by day, and I’ll share more information or updates as I know more,” she wrote.

“Very thankful it’s not worse, but I’m pretty sore at the moment. I won’t be skiing the rest of this weekend, and I won’t be skiing in Kronplatz.

“Beyond that, it’s quite hard to say right now. Need a little time to process with my team and see how everything is feeling in the coming days! Thank you all!”