Terrible Ski Racing Crash.



Matthias Lanzinger Crash Leads To Leg Amputation - Watch more free videos
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that really hurts to watch. did they actually have to amputate his leg though? and why, usually that kind of stuff heals up, maybe not enough to ski anymore but why would they cut his leg off?
 
that hurt to watch, it looked like basically his knee was like unhinged. like he really reallly really tore it up cause it was twisting like both ways as he was sliding down. i dunno if they can fix that.
 
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/03/04/bc.ski.lanzingeramputat.ap/index.html

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger's lower left

leg was amputated Tuesday because of complications from two broken

bones in a crash at a World Cup race.

Lanzinger broke his shin

and fibula Sunday during a super-G. The double fracture severely

damaged blood vessels, hampering circulation in the 27-year-old skier's

leg.

The Austrian ski federation said the surgery Monday night

was only partly successful and left doctors no other option in an

effort to avoid further risks.

"The circulation could not be

stabilized," said doctor Thomas Hoelzenbein, who was flown in from

Austria Monday to lead the operation.

Organizers of the race in

Kvitfjell, Norway, were criticized because no medical helicopter was

available. Lanzinger was flown to a hospital in Lillehammer in a

tourist helicopter, and later was brought to Oslo.

"The lacking

safety measures at these races are shocking," Austrian Chancellor

Alfred Gusenbauer told the Austria Presse Agency on Tuesday. "I can't

understand how a World Cup race could be organized at such a low safety

level."

FIS general secretary Sarah Lewis said World Cup events are the responsibility of the hosting national federation.

"The

race would not have gone ahead and started if it had not satisfied all

the safety requirements in terms of netting, course setting and

visibility," she said. "Medical supervision is the responsibility of

the Norwegian organizing committee.

"Kvitfjell is a very

reliable venue in terms of staging competitions ... it is close to a

hospital and relatively close to the capital city."

Austrian ski

federation president Peter Schroecksnadel said it was too early to

apportion blame. Hans Pum, the federation's Alpine director, called for

a discussion of safety at the World Cup circuit.

"We should

clear this case soon and bring all relevant parties together to discuss

speed, equipment and course preparation, as the safety and the health

of the athletes come first," Pum said.

Lanzinger, who started

30th, crashed near the finish after hitting a gate. The race, won by

teammate Georg Streitberger, was interrupted for more than 30 minutes.

Lanzinger's career best World Cup result was third at a super-G in Beaver Creek, Colo., in December 2005.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
 
I watched that live on TV. It's so nasty! All the competitors had to look away.

It's the worst when his ski doesnt pop off initially...and his leg is just spinning around and around.

Now his leg has been amputated? Fuck man...
 
pretty sure at one point his body was twisting around and his leg was staying in the same place. poor guy
 
his leg had to be amputated...

damn life can change so fast...

looking at crashes like that make me feel like breaking my back was no big deal.
 
ewwww that hurt just to watch it. woooooooooow. racing is more dangerous than freeskiing sometimes
 
Ski racing isn't necessarily more dangerous because they don't fall as much, but when you fall going 90 mph you are screwed no matter what you do, so scary to watch, his bindings must have been CRANKED.
 
gnarlyest crash i have ever see! at first it didnt seem that bad until it replayed and when i saw his leg i cringed, thats so horrible that that had to happen.
 
20 din fucking you over ftw!

lesson to you "kids" out there: this is what happens if your bindings are cranked to high. Off course he had a reason to though.
 
watched it once, not going to watch it again. his leg... it just looked like something that was completely impossible. He was knocked out so quick he had no idea how fucked he was. That's really too sad... must be devastating having to have your leg amputated, much less just shatter your leg.
 
I saw that on the boob tube a couple of days ago.

What a friggin' terrible crash. I almost can't believe that they had to amputate.

What's nutz is that that guy was a world class athlete one day on the friggin' AUSTRIAN SKI TEAM (i.e number one) and now he's an amputee. The physical damage pales in comparison to the mental stuff that guy has to go through.

On the bright side, at least he's alive and he's got a lot to live for.

 
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