Freestyle skier "seriously hurt" in training crash

Sochi: Russian Skicross racer Maria Komissarova has been seriously hurt in training with doctors making an immediate decision to operate, the Russian Freestyle Federation said on Saturday.

Komissarova sustained the injury while training at the PSX Olympic skicross venue at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. There were no immediate details of her injury, but the federation said the 23-year-old would not compete at the ongoing Sochi Games. Komissarova`s accident comes two days after a track worker at the February 7-23 Olympics was struck by a bobsleigh, suffering two broken legs. The worker was hit by the "forerunner", which is sent down the track ahead of the official competitors to check for safety. Komissarova`s crash marks the first serious athlete accident of the Sochi Games. Four years ago, a tragic pall hung over the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a crash during a training run on the day of the opening ceremony.