The Associated Press has relayed word from Russian officials that skicross competitor Maria Komissarova has undergone a successful six-and-a-half hour surgery on her back.
BREAKING: Russian officials: Skicross racer has undergone successful 6½-hour surgery on broken back #sochi2014
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) February 15, 2014
The Russian team’s head of press, Mikhail Verzhba, later confirmed her injury as a fracture to the 12th dorsal vertebrae in her lower back.
She received emergency surgery at a hospital near Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, where the injury took place. Multiple outlets, including R-Sport, first reported about the incident this morning.
IOC president Thomas Bach has sent his best wishes to Komissarova and also said that he understood that there were no issues with the conditions on the skicross course.
“The first information is that it was nothing to do with the infrastructure, the snow conditions,” he said according to Reuters. “It was in a training session and this unfortunate incident happened.
“We will see how it goes, now our thoughts are with the athlete.”
Not expected to be a medal contender in skicross, Komissarova’s top finish in international competition is a runner-up result in a 2012 World Cup race at Grindelwald, Switzerland.
