Picabo's knee.

When U.S. skier Picabo Street competes at this month's Winter Olympic Games, all eyes will be on her left knee. Street, 26, hopes to stage a comeback from an injury that could have shattered her career as a world-class skier.

In late 1996, Street (at left and fight) crashed on her skis during a training run. She ripped two ligaments, strong strips of fibrous tissue that hold bones together, in her left knee. Doctors had to reconstruct her knee surgically.

"Ligaments are like ropes," says Dr. Charles Goodwin, an orthopedic surgeon at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery. "They stretch from bone to bone and stabilize the knee joint." As the largest joint in the body, the knee depends heavily on ligaments. When they tear, the knee can't move properly or support any weight. Street completely tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and partially tore the medial collateral ligament (MCL) (see diagram). Surgeons performed a tendon (connective tissue) graft to replace her torn ligament. They removed part of the patellar tendon in Street's injured knee and used it to create a new ligament. Street's MCL tear healed on its own.

[Diagram OMITTED]

After surgery, Street began rehabilitation, which included aerobic exercises and running in a pool. Last July, Street skied for the first time since her injury.

Now, Street is back to speed. "I want to win gold medals in the downhill and giant slalom events," she says. Street hopes the only thing she'll shatter at the '98 Games will be Olympic records.