GENEVA (AP) - Olympic halfpipe champion Iouri Podladtchikov will have surgery after sustaining a serious knee injury at the snowboard world championships.
The Swiss ski federation said Tuesday that Podladtchikov tore the ACL in his right knee during his silver medal-winning performance on Saturday in Sierra Nevada, Spain.
The 28-year-old snowboarder, known as I-Pod, will have the operation on Thursday in St. Moritz.
Podladtchikov should return in time to defend his Olympic title next year in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the Swiss team said in a statement.
The Russia-born Podladtchikov took gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics when two-time defending champion Shaun White of the United States was fourth.
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