Canadian freestyle skier, Sarah Burke is in a coma after a serious head injury while training at Park City, Utah. The 29 year-old Burke is a four-time Winter X Games champion in the skiing superpipe.
Sarah played a major role in getting the halfpipe added to the 2014 Winter Games. She’s the 2005 halfpipe world gold medalist. Still two years away from the Olympics Sarah has been considered one of the gold-medal favorites in Sochi, Russia (home to the 2014 Winter Olympics).
Reports are that Sara was airlifted from Park City, Utah to Salt Lake City after crashing at the end of a training session.
From www.ctvbc.ctv.ca
The CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association said sources had told him Burke is in a coma, but association spokeswoman Kelley Korbin said Wednesday her condition had yet to be confirmed.“We’re trying to get more information as I speak,” Korbin said.
Burke, who was born in Ontario before moving to Whistler, B.C., is believed to have landed a trick on her feet before bouncing onto her head.
“What I’ve heard is that the crash itself didn’t appear to be that severe,” Korbin said, adding that it “obviously turned out to be very serious.”
According to The Saltlake City Tribune the family has requested not to release further details on Burke’s condition except to confirm that she’s alive and still at the hostpital. Nicole Wool, Sarah’s publicist shared with the paper in an email that Burke is “sedated and being monitored”. At the family’s request, hospital spokesman Phil Sahm could not release further details on Burke’s condition Wednesday morning except to confirm she was still at the hospital and still alive.
Sarah was preparing for the 2012 Winter X-Games held later this month. Read a recent interview with the skiing start on ESPN.com.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sarah and her loved ones. You can share your thoughts and well wishes on Sarah’s Facebook page or to her twitter account. Include the hashtag #STAYstrongSarah and let’s show how strong our support is while Sarah fights for her life.
UPDATE via Smith Opitics (one of Sarah’s sponsors)
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke was transported by AirMed helicopter to University of Utah Hospital from Park City Mountain Resort after sustaining serious injuries during training. She is currently listed in critical condition in the hospital’s Neuro Critical Care Unit.“Sarah sustained serious injuries and remains intubated and sedated in critical condition,†according to Safdar Ansari, M.D., a neurointensivist with University of Utah Health Care.
Sarah’s husband Rory Bushfield and her family are by her bedside and wish to express their sincere thanks to everyone, all over the world, for their heartfelt thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. “Sarah is a very strong young woman and she will most certainly fight to recover,†said Rory.
Sarah’s family has asked that fans and media respect their privacy during this difficult time. Sarah’s friends and fans are encouraged to post their well wishes on Sarah’s Facebook page.
Props to Smith for getting on board with the STAY STRONG SARAH movement. That’s a sign of a company that cares about their athletes!
Lead photo of Sarah holding her feature in OUTSIDE magazine via shaywill.com.
