Olympic halfpipe champion I-Pod to have knee surgery

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.