Gagnon dislocates shoulder, plans to race slalom
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia
First, Mark McMorris won bronze in the hard-pounding, high-impact world of snowboard slopestyle with a broken rib. Now, MarieMichele Gagnon is shooting to race in the slalom and giant slalom with a dislocated left shoulder and bruised left quadriceps muscle. So much for Canadian hockey stars holding the copyright on playing hurt.
“Thanks for all the concerns,” Gagnon wrote Monday night on Twitter. “Should be ready to go for the tech events.”
Gagnon roared into the Games as a legitimate medal contender in the slalom, giant slalom, and super combined. On Monday, the best all- around Canadian skier in recent memory left the Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre in the back of an ambulance en route to the medical clinic at the Mountain Athletes Village.
Sitting 21st after the downhill portion of the women’s super combined, Gagnon vowed to hammer the slick slalom course in hopes of making up lost ground. But she straddled a gate near the top of the course, tumbled face-first on the hard-packed snow, and slid down the steep incline.
She picked herself up, clutched her left forearm and motioned with her right arm while saying, “help.”
Medics treated her on the hill and mobilized her left arm in a sling.
If Gagnon had her way, she would line up in the start hut for Saturday’s super-G. But the doctors quashed that idea, ordering her to rest for at least 48 hours before even attempting to get back on skis. The giant slalom is scheduled for Feb. 18 and the slalom for Feb. 21.