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Pioneering Freestyle Skier in Coma

Sarah Burke of Canada falls during training run

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 11, 2012 2:01 PM CST

(Newser) – A freestyle skier credited with helping get her sport included in the 2014 Winter Olympics is in a coma in Salt Lake City after a fall, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail. Canadian Sarah Burke, 29, fell yesterday during a training run at a Utah mountain resort. Burke has won gold four times at the Winter X Games in superpipe skiing, which the Salt Lake City Tribune says is similar to snowboarding's halfpipe, but on skis. She was a heavy favorite for Olympic gold in Russia in 2014.

"She landed a trick down in the bottom end of the pipe, and kind of bounced, from her feet to her head," says the CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. "It wasn’t anything that looked like a catastrophic fall, so I’m a bit mystified." The accident happened on the same halfpipe where snowboarder Kevin Pearce fell and suffered a brain injury in 2009. He is now back on the slopes.

This is a 2008 file photo of Canadian skier Sarah Burke.
This is a 2008 file photo of Canadian skier Sarah Burke.   (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)
Sarah Burke, in a Jan. 28, 2010, file photo.
Sarah Burke, in a Jan. 28, 2010, file photo.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
aspergers-guy
Jan 11, 2012 4:29 PM CST
A concussion that puts you into a coma ?? That's a pretty nasty concussion. It doesn't take much to damage the brain inside its skull. The right impact can cause bleeding & before you know it, swelling & unconsciousness with death only a short time away : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson#Injury_and_death Any injury to the skull should be checked out, examined by medical professionals asap after the injury. Liam Neeson's former wife appeared fine for hours after her head injury as she slowly died because she didn't get what looked like a minor concussion checked out in a timely fashion. Her miscalculation lead to her untimely death :-( Let's hope this young Canadian woman comes out ok
Outrageous
Jan 11, 2012 3:00 PM CST
Beautiful, athletic, gutsy, and talented.  What a shame.  Probably not her first concussion - hopefully she recovers and switches to Sports Management.

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