International Capsules: Snowboardcross leads Vancouver injury list
LONDON (AP) — Snowboardcross was the most hazardous sport at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, with nearly 75 percent of female athletes sustaining injuries during the rough-and-tumble races.
According to a medical study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, at least 11 percent of all athletes at the games in February sustained injuries — including 20 concussions.
The study reported a total of 287 injuries among the 2,567 athletes, including the "catastrophic injury" which caused the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training crash a few hours before the opening ceremony on Feb. 12.
The findings illustrate some of the inherent dangers in pushing the boundaries in already risky high-speed winter sports.
"Overall, we are a little concerned about the increasing number of injuries that are not just minor," International Olympic Committee medical commission head Arne Ljungqvist told The Associated Press on Monday. "Some of this can be regulated by stricter rules.
"But it seems there is a conflict — the interest of making sport more interesting perhaps but also a little more dangerous," Ljungqvist added. "Some athletes want to have more speed, but on the other hand we have to look after the safety of the athletes."
The IOC-funded project is the first in-depth study of injuries at a Winter Olympics. It follows similar research at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, where 9 percent of athletes reported injuries.
Ljungqvist said the Vancouver report will serve as a basis for working with international federations to minimize injury risks at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
The findings are based on reports from 82 national team doctors and designated medical centers in Vancouver and Whistler. The study said the actual figures were likely higher because not all injuries were reported.
About 25 percent of the injuries were serious enough to result in athletes being unable to train or compete. The most common injury areas were the head, spine and knees; bruising and ligament and muscle sprains were the most frequent types of injury.
The highest-risk sports were bobsled, ice hockey, short-track speedskating, Alpine and freestyle skiing and snowboardcross, where between 15 percent to 35 percent of athletes were injured.
The lowest risk were Nordic skiing, as well as luge, curling, speedskating and freestyle moguls — with less than 5 percent of athletes being injured.
The study found that snowboardcross produced the highest percentage of injuries (35 percent) of any Olympic events. An astounding 73 percent of the women — 16 of the 22 competitors — sustained injuries. For men, the figure was 11 percent — four of the 35 athletes.
Snowboardcross was brought into the Olympics in 2006 to inject some life, youth and X Games attitude into the Winter Games. It features athletes pushing, shoving and hurtling down a hill at breakneck speed. The sport's cousin, skicross, made its debut in Vancouver.
"Snowboard and snowboardcross is where I see there is a potential for improving safety," said professor Lars Engebretsen of the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo, an author of the study.
"The fact is during the season leading up to the Olympics they also had high injury incidents during their World Cups and pre-Olympic qualification," he told AP in a telephone interview.
Last week, a teenage member of the Russian national snowboard team was killed in a snowboardcross training accident in the Swiss Alps.
Among men in Vancouver, the highest rate of injuries was in short-track speedskating, with 27.8 percent. The sport features close contact, high speeds and sharp turns.
Bobsled had a 20 percent overall injury rate, followed by ice hockey at 18 percent.
Engebretsen said scientists will spend the next six months studying videos of all the serious injuries to determine how they occurred.
Kumaritashvili's fatal accident was the only injury reported in the luge competition, which could be partly attributed to the fact that organizers shortened the course in Whistler to make it safer after his death.
"My impression from before and looking at all the statistics from that sport (luge) is they did not have many injuries," Engebretsen said. "This (fatal) incident was very, very unusual."
The circumstances of the luge crash were not covered in the study.
Overall, the injury rate at the games was higher among women (13 percent) than men (9 percent).
The study found more than half the injuries in bobsled, skiing and snowboarding occurred as a result of contact with a stationary object. It urged organizers to create safe conditions to prevent further risks.
Although Ljungqvist expressed concern over an increase in injuries, Engebretsen said the 11 percent figure was not high.
"I think it's not a lot," he said. "Compared to some other world championships, it's actually a bit less."
Munich bid leader resigns due to health problems
MUNICH (AP) — The leader of Munich's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics resigned for health reasons Monday, leaving figure skating great Katarina Witt with a more prominent role in the campaign.
Willy Bogner announced last week that he had an unspecified bowel disease. On Monday, he said he was stepping down after doctors recommended he avoid long-distance travel.
"My condition is unfortunately more serious than previously thought," the 68-year-old Bogner said. "I hope people understand that my health must come first."
Bernard Schwank was appointed the new CEO. Witt, the two-time Olympic champion, is the bid chair who has primarily been active promoting Munich events abroad. She will now will take on a wider role in that regard. Juergen Buehl will serve as bid director.
The change comes as Munich's bid struggles to resolve a dispute with a group of farmers in Garmisch-Partenkirchen who are unwilling to cede their land for use during the Olympics.
Munich, which hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics, is trying to become the first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Games.
Munich is competing against Annecy, France, and Pyeongchang, South Korea. The International Olympic Committee will select the host city in a vote in Durban, South Africa, in July 2011.
Bogner, a former two-time Olympic skier, gained renown as a movie maker. He directed and filmed skiing scenes in four James Bond movies, as well as films from several Winter Games. He also made an international name for himself as a fashion designer, focusing on ski, tennis and casual sportswear collections.
Bogner will remain as a member of the committee board and will continue to offer assistance on marketing and communication issues.
"Having spoken with a number of IOC members over the past weeks, I am positive that Willy has left the bid in great shape," Witt said.
Lord's on target on cricket-to-archery changes
LONDON (AP) — Organizers say Lord's cricket ground has been granted permission to begin making changes for the archery competition at the 2012 Olympics.
Temporary facilities and structures — such as a range and seating for 5,000 spectators — can now be installed at the famous ground. Archery will be held for a week at Lord's during the London Games, and Monday's decision on preparations was largely a formality.
London Organizing Committee chairman Sebastien Coe calls Lord's a "world-class venue" that will provide a "spectacular and innovative setting."
Figure Skating
Olympic champion Kim Yu-na to train in Los Angeles
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na is moving her training base from Canada to California.
Kim's management agency AT Sports says that the 20-year-old South Korean is training at the East West Ice Palace in Artesia in the outskirts of Los Angeles.
The agency says that Kim, who parted ways with Brian Orser last month, doesn't have a new coach yet.
Kim had been training with Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club since 2006. She won South Korea's first Olympic medal in figure skating in this year's Vancouver Games under his tutelage.
The two split last month in a public spat for reasons that remain unclear.
Cycling
Alessandro Petacchi pulls out of Spanish Vuelta
MADRID (AP) — Italian rider Alessandro Petacchi has pulled out of the Spanish Vuelta after injuring himself in a large pileup during the eighth stage of the race.
The crash occurred 6.8 miles from the start of the stage Saturday and involved a number of the leading riders.
A statement on the Lampre website Monday said the fall gave Petacchi cuts that could not be treated by a masseur.
Petacchi said "I can't hold the handlebar."
Petacchi rode on after the crash with a badly torn outfit and a bloody lower back, finishing 124th in the stage.
The 36-year-old rider had won Friday's seventh stage, the 20th Vuelta stage win of his career.
Boxing
New 5th Street Gym to open
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A new 5th Street Gym will open next month on the site of the famous gym where Muhammad Ali and other top boxers trained.
Angelo Dundee, who trained Ali, is a partner in the ownership group. His brother, Chris, who died 12 years ago, opened the original gym in 1951 and operated it for three decades.
Chris Dundee promoted weekly cards on Tuesday nights at the Miami Beach Auditorium and Convention Center in the 1950s and '60s. The original gym was torn down in 1993.
The new gym will be for those seeking workouts and for professional boxers and mixed martial arts fighters training for bouts.
