The 2014 Sochi Olympics has had a fair share of injuries, none more so than the extreme sports that were added to the winter games as a way to attract a younger audience to watch and show interest in the Games.
OSS admires all the Olympians competing for the Gold as well as glory for their respective country; and as the final week rounds out this year’s Winter Olympics, we want to wish all the athletes who were involved in some kind of injury, a speedy recovery.
According to Dr. Charlie Peterson, “These events demonstrate that even at the elite level of competition, injuries are part of the game for all athletes. It re-emphasizes the need for maximum fitness and proper techniques and equipment to minimize the chance of injury, as well as the timely treatment of injuries when they occur.”
Here is a rundown of athletes and their injuries:
- Ski-cross racer Maria Komissarova of Russia broke her spine during a practice run at the Extreme Park and is being treated in Munich after undergoing surgery in Krasnaya Polyana, the nearest town to the venue.
- Canadian skier Yuki Tsubota suffered a mild concussion and a fractured cheekbone in a Feb. 11 crash during the women’s slopestyle event, where athletes soar and slide over obstacles before launching themselves off progressively larger jumps. The 20-year-old landed short and was taken off the course on a stretcher. She has returned home to see if she needs surgery.
- During the women’s snowboard cross event on Feb. 16, Jacqueline Hernandez of the U.S. was carried off after she banged her head, as was Norway’s Helene Olafsen with a knee injury.
- Islanders star John Tavares is out for the season after suffering a left knee injury in Team Canada’s win over Latvia on February 18.
- Bode Miller owns a U.S.-record six Olympic Alpine medals, including a bronze in the super-G from last weekend that made him the oldest ski racer to win a Winter Games medal. He said Wednesday, February 18 that his knee bothered him after that race, and it’s been swollen during the Sochi Olympics.
- Heidi Kloser of Vail injures right knee in crash, out of Sochi Olympic moguls