Olympics Death and denial in top flight ski-racing

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: Elite downhill racers will strap on their skis at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics aware of the risks but sometimes in denial about the real dangers despite two deaths in the run-up to the Games.

German teenager Max Burkhart and France’s two-time Olympian David Poisson both died in racing incidents in Canada, the first fatalities on the professional circuit since 2001, casting a dark shadow over the sport.

“We know we do a risky sport,” said Poisson’s teammate Blaise Giezendanner.

“You accept wrecking a knee, you accept sliding into the nets. Injuries are part of the game.

“But the game is not about dying. At no moment do we downhillers say to ourselves ‘this morning, I’ll maybe die’.”

That said, there is an element of denial among the elite racers given the taxing nature of a sport that combines sheer speed with technical prowess.

Dressed in a skin-tight catsuit, back support and helmet, begoggled racers shot through course falls, snakes and rolls, on a wide variety of terrain, in parts propelling them 60 metres in the air, only to slam down for icy traverses that severely test technical ability and mastery of well-honed equipment.

Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud, who won super-G gold and downhill bronze in Sochi and giant slalom silver in 2010, said: “You have to compartmentalise things, and it’s tough.

“We talk about it, we know that sport has a lot of risks, but we forget our sport is a dangerous one.

“When you crash, you can hurt yourself - a knee, an elbow - but this (death) is difficult to accept.”