Canadian skier Nick Zoricic dies in World Cup skicross race

The Canadian Ski Cross athlete Nick Zoricic crashed heavily during the Ski Cross event in Grindelwald on March 10th, 2012 and died as a result of the injuries he suffered.

The FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Grindelwald on March 10th, 2012 was overshadowed by the fatal accident. The Canadian athlete Nick Zoricic fell heavily just before the finish in the round of eight, crashing directly into the safety netting and thereafter laying motionless. Medical care was administered immediately by team doctors, with expert care by the Swiss emergency response team Air Glacier following within minutes.

Despite the best efforts of all involved and the reanimation of Zoricic in hospital, he died at 12:35 as a result of severe neurotrauma.

Zoricic, 29 years old, began his ski career as an Alpine athlete and switched later to Ski Cross. He achieved two podium places in his Ski Cross career (2010/11 and 2011/12) and was sixth in the overall standings in 2011.

After the tragic accident the organisers decided to cancel the entire event in Grindelwald, including the remainder of Saturday's race and the World Cup Final on March 11th.

The Organising Committee, FIS, and Swiss-Ski express their deepest condolences to the family and friends of Nik Zoricic and the Canadian Ski Team.

crispyapplepie wrote:It goes to show how dangerous a sport like skiing can be, he clearly has to wear a helmet but when he hit the net it didn't look that bad at all. I've seen far worse in down hill racing.

A real shame and thoughts go out to his family and friends.

RIP

bandit wrote:

crispyapplepie wrote:It goes to show how dangerous a sport like skiing can be, he clearly has to wear a helmet but when he hit the net it didn't look that bad at all. I've seen far worse in down hill racing.

A real shame and thoughts go out to his family and friends.

RIP

There has been criticism of the positioning of the final jump and the width of the finish gate. It was possible to go over the final jump and ski straight into the net after landing. Most D/H have padding cushions in the finish area, and having seen the video of this accident, the netting appeared to offer no shock absorption.

bandit wrote:
There has been criticism of the positioning of the final jump and the width of the finish gate. It was possible to go over the final jump and ski straight into the net after landing. Most D/H have padding cushions in the finish area, and having seen the video of this accident, the netting appeared to offer no shock absorption.