KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Russian officials say Olympic skicross racer Maria Komissarova has undergone a successful 6½-hour operation on her broken and dislocated spine following a training accident.
Russian freestyle ski federation spokesman Mikhail Verzeba says Komissarova fractured the 12th dorsal vertebrae in her lower-middle back and had emergency surgery Saturday.
Komissarova was brought to a hospital near the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park and the decision was made to operate there instead of transporting her down the mountain.
The 23-year-old Komissarova was practicing for next Friday's contest on a sunny morning on the 1,200-meter course, which has nine banked turns and 25 jumps.