Putin visits Russian skier after broken back surgery
Russian Olympic skicross racer Maria Komissarova underwent six-and-a-half hours of spinal surgery on Saturday after breaking her back in a Sochi 2014 training crash.
|Last Updated: Feb 16, 2014, 08:03 PM IST|Source: Reuters
Sochi: Russian Olympic skicross racer Maria Komissarova underwent six-and-a-half hours of spinal surgery on Saturday after breaking her back in a Sochi 2014 training crash.
The 23-year-old had a metal implant inserted and surgeons said they would not know how successful the operation had been for three or four days.
Her condition was serious but she was in a stable condition, the Russia Freestyle Skiing Federation said, adding that she was likely to be taken to a Moscow hospital or go abroad for treatment when it was possible to move her.
Her mother, Maria, was due to arrive in Sochi on Sunday.
President Vladimir Putin visited Komissarova on Saturday evening to wish her a rapid recovery and doctors briefed him on the surgery, the federation said.
Komissarova told Putin her father was extremely worried, so the president called him to offer his assurances that the doctors were doing their best to help her make a full recovery, it added.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement: "Our thoughts are with the athlete and the family".
Komissarova suffered the injury during training at the PSX Olympic skicross venue at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. She was taken to Krasnaya Polyana Hospital Number 8, which was specially built for the Olympics, where doctors decided to operate.
"During one of her training runs, Maria injured her spine," the freestyle team`s head of press Mikhail Verzhba said. "It is a serious injury."
Verzhba said the athlete had received medical assistance almost immediately.
The 1,200-metre skicross course at Extreme Park is a medium-pitch slope which features cambered turns, gap jumps, drops and flat sections.
The skiers race down the course in groups of four in a test of speed, skill and aggression with the first across the line the winner.
"You will never be able to exclude any kind of risk," IOC President Thomas Bach said.
"We feel very sorry for the athlete. We hope that the operation will be successful and that she will be back."
Bach said that, as he understood it, the accident had nothing to do with conditions at the Extreme Park.
"The first information is that it was nothing to do with the infrastructure, the snow conditions. It was in a training session and this unfortunate incident happened.
"Our thoughts are with the athlete."
TRAGIC PALL
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.
Russian ski jumper Maksim Maksimochkin was taken away on a stretcher on Wednesday night after crashing during practice on the large hill. He spent the night in hospital and was diagnosed with two fractured ribs.
On the slopes, Liechtenstein`s medal hope Tina Weirather missed the downhill and super-G after suffering a heavy bruise when she fell in downhill training on Sunday. She was not entered in the combined.
Slovenia`s Rok Perko broke his nose in a fall in men`s downhill training, while French skier Brice Roger tore his anterior cruciate ligaments in the same training session and is out for six months.
Canadian Marie-Michele Gagnon dislocated her shoulder after straddling a gate in the super-combined on Monday. She returned for the super-G today but skied out.
In figure skating, Jeremy Abbott slammed into the barriers after falling on his opening jump. He lay grimacing in pain for almost a minute but then finished his programme.
Komissarova`s crash, though, marks the first major athlete accident of the Sochi Games.
Four years ago, a tragic pall hung over the Winter Olympics in Vancouver when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a crash during a training run on the day of the opening ceremony.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.