Czech alpine skier Tereza Nova, 26, is in a medically induced coma after a extreme crash throughout World Cup downhill coaching on Friday, January 24, the Czech Ski Federation confirmed Saturday, January 25. “Tereza Nova has been positioned in an induced coma following her fall throughout downhill coaching yesterday (Friday) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. She underwent surgical procedure to cut back mind swelling on the Murnau hospital and can stay in a medically induced coma for so long as the medical staff deems needed,” the federation stated in an announcement.
Nova’s fall occurred throughout the closing coaching session on the demanding Kandahar course, recognized for its steep descents and punishing velocity. She was instantly airlifted to the hospital in Murnau, a number one facility for trauma accidents, the place medical doctors carried out emergency mind surgical procedure. The choice to induce a coma displays a medical technique to handle extreme mind trauma by decreasing swelling and defending the mind from additional harm. This strategy offers the physique time to get well and minimizes issues akin to seizures or elevated intracranial stress, each of which may observe traumatic head accidents.
Nova, a rising star in Czech snowboarding, has competed on the World Cup circuit since 2019. She represented her nation on the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, together with her greatest outcome being 14th place within the mixed occasion. Recognized for her technical precision and fearlessness, Nova is a part of a brand new technology of skiers carrying the hopes of Czech alpine sports activities. The snowboarding group has rallied behind Nova, with followers and athletes sharing messages of help. “We’re all considering of Tereza and want her a speedy restoration and plenty of power,” a spokesperson for the Czech ski affiliation informed the newspaper “Sport.”
Nova’s compatriot and Olympic champion Ester Ledecka, who gained gold in snowboarding’s super-G and snowboarding’s parallel large slalom on the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, selected to not compete in Saturday’s Downhill occasion. Italy’s Federica Brignone claimed victory within the race on the Kandahar course, whereas teammate Sofia Goggia claimed second, and Switzerland’s Corinne Suter claimed third. Nova’s damage is the most recent in a string of great accidents which have shaken the alpine snowboarding world in latest weeks. Austrian Nina Ortlieb fractured her decrease leg in a high-speed crash throughout as we speak’s Downhill race in Garmisch.
As Nova stays underneath medical care, the alpine snowboarding group is left grappling with the game’s inherent dangers, notably within the very harmful high-speed occasions of Downhill and Tremendous-G. Many skiers and specialists are demanding change for the protection of the athletes. This season, the Worldwide Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) launched necessary airbags for velocity occasions. Nonetheless, many athletes wound up submitting exemption requests.
