Kucera breaks his leg at super-G
Source: Agencies |
December 1, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CANADA'S downhill world champion John Kucera is in danger of missing next year's Vancouver Olympics after breaking his leg in a high-speed fall on Sunday.
Kucera was airlifted from the Lake Louise course in Alberta to a nearby hospital after crashing into the safety netting during the season-opening World Cup super-G, won by his teammate Manuel Osborne-Paradis.
"John Kucera has a left leg fracture that will require surgery," said Alpine Canada in a statement. There was no immediate comment on whether he would be able to compete at the Olympics, starting in February.
The 25-year-old Kucera was regarded as one of his country's top medal hopes for Vancouver and his injury overshadowed Osborne-Paradis' first World Cup super-G win.
"It's amazing but just too bad this wonderful day has been overshadowed by John's crash," Osborne-Paradis said. "We just have to hope that everything is fine. We are going to miss having such a great skier on our team.
"But we have a strong team in that you have to fight just to qualify for an Olympic spot."
Osborne-Paradis, who won a World Cup downhill event in Norway last season but had never finished better than 13th in super-G, clocked a winning time of one minute 32.93 seconds. He finished more than a second clear of Benjamin Raich and his fellow Austrian Michael Walchhofer, last season's World Cup downhill champion. Canada's Erik Guay was fourth and Robbie Dixon fifth, giving the home team three of the first five placings.
Kucera was airlifted from the Lake Louise course in Alberta to a nearby hospital after crashing into the safety netting during the season-opening World Cup super-G, won by his teammate Manuel Osborne-Paradis.
"John Kucera has a left leg fracture that will require surgery," said Alpine Canada in a statement. There was no immediate comment on whether he would be able to compete at the Olympics, starting in February.
The 25-year-old Kucera was regarded as one of his country's top medal hopes for Vancouver and his injury overshadowed Osborne-Paradis' first World Cup super-G win.
"It's amazing but just too bad this wonderful day has been overshadowed by John's crash," Osborne-Paradis said. "We just have to hope that everything is fine. We are going to miss having such a great skier on our team.
"But we have a strong team in that you have to fight just to qualify for an Olympic spot."
Osborne-Paradis, who won a World Cup downhill event in Norway last season but had never finished better than 13th in super-G, clocked a winning time of one minute 32.93 seconds. He finished more than a second clear of Benjamin Raich and his fellow Austrian Michael Walchhofer, last season's World Cup downhill champion. Canada's Erik Guay was fourth and Robbie Dixon fifth, giving the home team three of the first five placings.
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