Austrian Hans Grugger was airlifted to hospital on Thursday after suffering brain and chest injuries following a crash at Kitzbuhel.
Austrian has emergency brain surgery after horror crash
Austrian skier Hans Grugger was airlifted to hospital on Thursday after suffering brain and chest injuries following a crash at Kitzbuhel.
The men's downhill at the famous Austrian venue is the highlight of the World Cup season, featuring numerous jumps during a speedy descent.
It is at one such jump - the notorious mousetrap - where Grugger came unstuck during training for Saturday's race, and he was reportedly still unconscious when he was taken away from the piste.
He flew high and tried to right himself for a better line into the next sharp turn, but only succeeded in winging his skis across the slope.
Grugger then tumbled and slid for 30 metres before coming to a halt, seemingly unconscious. He received immediate treatment on the course before being airlifted off the course by helicopter to Innsbruck hospital.
Dr Michael Blauth performed emergency surgery on the 29-year-old to remove blood from the brain, the Austrian Ski Federation said in a statement.
He had not regained consciousness and there was no further word on his condition, although team spokesman Jo Schmid believed Grugger's life was "not in danger".
Gruesome
"He suffered head trauma and injuries to his rib cage," said Austrian team spokesman Markus Ichner before Grugger had surgery.
"He doesn't respond when we speak to him."
There have been some gruesome crashes on The Streif in the past, none less so than the one involving Daniel Albrecht in 2009.
The Swiss racer suffered brain and lung injuries after misjudging his landing on the final jump - but has since made a remarkable comeback.
Grugger's career has been marred by knee injuries, which kept him sidelined several times in the last couple of seasons. He has four career World Cup victories - two in downhill and two in super-G.
Swiss veteran Didier Cuche led the times after the first training run in two minutes 01.12 seconds, ahead of Italian Christian Innerhofer and Georg Streitberger of Austria.
