French skier Sarrazin awake and stable after surgery for head injury from downhill training crash
Daniella Matar | The Associated Press | Posted: December 27, 2024 8:15 PM | Last Updated: December 28
30-year-old had procedure to drain bleed near the brain after being airlifted to hospital
French skier Cyprien Sarrazin was awake and in stable condition on Saturday, a day after surgery on a head injury sustained in a crash during training for a World Cup downhill in Bormio, Italy.
Sarrazin, who won the downhill on Bormio's fearsome Stelvio course last year, was one of two skiers airlifted to hospital after crashing on Friday on the slope set to be used for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 14 months.
He underwent an operation to drain a bleed near the brain and was still under anesthesia on Saturday morning but has since been brought round.
"Following his operation on Friday evening at the Sondalo hospital near Bormio, Cyprien Sarrazin is awake and conscious. His condition is stable," the French ski federation said in a statement it attributed to team doctor Stephane Bulle.
"He will be kept under observation for an as yet undetermined period."
Catapulted into the air
Sarrazin, who was fastest in the first training session the previous day, was on course for another good time in Friday's second run when he appeared to hit a bump, lost control and was catapulted into the air. He slid a long way down before he was caught in the safety netting.
The 30-year-old was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Sondalo, about 20 kilometers from Bormio.
Sarrazin enjoyed his best campaign on the World Cup circuit last season with four victories — three downhill and one super-G — but has yet to win this winter.
Italian skier Pietro Zazzi of Italy also crashed and was airlifted to Sondalo hospital. He was set to undergo surgery in Milan on Saturday after breaking the tibia and fibula of his right leg.
Saturday's downhill was won by Swiss skier Alexis Monney, who had never previously finished higher than eighth in a World Cup race. On Sunday, a super-G scheduled to take place on the Stelvio.
Men's Alpine skiing at the 2026 Olympics will take place in Bormio, while the women's will be in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The two ski areas are separated by a five-hour car ride.
'They don't know how to prepare a course'
The incidents called into question the safety of the fearsome Stelvio slope.
"My opinion here is clear, it's that they don't know how to prepare a course," Sarrazin's teammate Nils Allegre said. "It's been 40 years that they have been preparing courses, but they don't know how to do anything, apart from dangerous things.
"Maybe it's not something everyone agrees with but it's my opinion and it's deep-seated. It's not right, I don't know what they're trying to prove, but a year ahead of organizing the Olympics, having a course like this — they don't deserve to have the Olympic Games here."
Swiss skier Josua Mettler also crashed on Friday and was on his way back to Switzerland for further tests on a knee injury.
Race director Omar Galli told The Associated Press that the organizers have "significantly upgraded safety features" and will further enhance those for the Olympics.
He rejected claims the slope hadn't been well prepared.
"I would invite him [Allegre] to come here just in the past 10 days, fortnight and see what happens from 5 a.m. until 8 p.m., when there's wind, when there's rain and see how we manage to resolve things," Galli said.
"Everyone has their own opinion and it should be respected because at the end it's the athletes who race. But probably if we asked 70 athletes we would probably end up with 70 different courses, maybe not 70 but at least 66. What's the middle point is up to us but it could be right for one and wrong for another."
Also on Friday, Swiss skier Yannick Chabloz announced his retirement at the age of 25, two years after a brutal crash on the Stelvio, in what proved to be his last race.