Young skiers sent on a dangerous descent in thick fog
The cross-country skiing competition for students at the Winter Sports Games was overshadowed by a tragic incident.
The 10-kilometer mass start among girls was planned for March 8, but the weather conditions were absolutely not conducive to holding a race on the most difficult track in Sochi, especially from the general start, when several dozen athletes went to the ski slope. at the same time.
According to the participants, even before the start of the competition there was a dense fog on the track (at the time). video recordings this is also clearly seen by eyewitnesses in the stadium).
Moreover, it was actively snowing all morning, but instead of postponing the race, the organizers decided to use a special snow compactor (snowplow) on the track, which was supposed to smooth out the situation.
But the snowmobile could not eliminate the consequences of constantly worsening weather conditions.
After the machine started working, everything got worse: the surface of the track was covered with ice particles and became even more slippery and dangerous to pass.
The final decision on this race was sealed by the most dangerous descent, in which athletes accelerated to several tens of kilometers per hour.
On this descent, the girls slipped on patches of ice and fell, breaking their arms and legs, breaking their faces, and accidentally injuring each other with sticks and skis.
Due to extremely low visibility due to dense fog, the rear of the peloton could not see what was ahead and also resulted in a gridlock.
And athletes who heard the screams of the victims and tried to avoid the collision also often could not cope with this task, because the descent was extremely difficult and it was unrealistic to stand there without falling.
In conversation with Spartakiad participant Kornei Kornev Spor.Ru He said he heard “girls squealing and screaming” as he passed the highway at the time.
“Obviously, there was a massacre. Probably this is also due to the negligence of the organizers. First of all, there was no need to run the race in such low clouds. Secondly, for some reason they launched the snowcat 30 minutes before the start – it lifted the ice from below and it turned out a mess.
The girls were just screaming in pain. It was really scary. Later, information began to come that the girls were coming out in groups and that there were open fractures. Our teammate was sent to the ambulance; He had a cut on his calf muscle. All this is disgusting and terrible,” Kornev said.
As a result, nine athletes were taken off the piste by ambulance and 15 other skiers abandoned the race.
“The level of these athletes is very low”
President of the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR) Elena Vyalbe reacted quite calmly to the incident, saying that underage athletes were injured due to inadequate training.
“It’s okay, God. What, are you going to the gym for the first time? The thing is that these athletes are not even ready for such a track. The level of these athletes is very low,” says Vyalbe. “Sports Express”.
Vyalbe also stated that the skiers suffered only bruises and broken ankles.
In its official statement, the Russian Ministry of Sports cleared the race organizers, emphasizing that fog unexpectedly blocked the track during the race.
“The sudden fall of fog during the race caused visibility to deteriorate and caused injuries and bruises to the athletes. The girls were all hospitalized and the boys’ race was cancelled.
The circumstances of the incident will be analyzed and appropriate measures will be taken. The safety of athletes should always be a priority,” said the press service of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. “Championship”.
“The track was covered in blood, faces were badly cut.”
Race participants disagree with the stance of Vyalbe and the Ministry of Sports. According to them, there was dense fog on the track from the very beginning, the ski track was completely unprepared for the competition, and the injuries received by the athletes turned out to be much more serious than bruises and broken wrists.
“During the warm-up it was clear that the piste was not ready: the ski slope was broken, the snow was a mess on the turns” “Championship” Words of a race participant on condition of anonymity. “Just before the start a snowmobile passed and the ski slope softened, which did not improve the situation.
Also there was still a thick fog so nothing was visible. “On the second lap, visibility dropped to zero.”
Another participant who competed at the end of the peloton of the race said that he had to deliberately fall at the beginning of the most dangerous descent in order to avoid hitting his injured competitors with his skis.
“Going over the stretchers is not an option. I fell on my hand, but my equipment remained in my hand. I stood up and continued the race,” said the athlete.
For some reason, the race was not stopped at the first major crash and the skier returned to the dangerous descent on the second lap.
“This time I also fell, because it was absolutely impossible to stop on the so-called simply plowed road. I hit my head hard and broke my glasses. “I somehow managed to finish it on adrenaline, but I never realized what was happening, my head was spinning,” said the athlete.
The skier called Vyalbe’s remarks about the poor preparation of the participants “insulting” and also denied his statement about “bruises”.
“I’m in the hospital right now, where the girls are moaning in pain. If Elena Valerievna really thinks and says so, it is humiliating for us.
The tracks were covered in blood, the girls had fractures, their faces were horribly cut. “How can we talk about ordinary bruises in such a situation?” — the athlete was angry.
“There are fractures in the arms, legs and ribs.”
Chatting with Irina’s grandmother, one of the race participants “socialbites.ca” He stated that his grandson pierced his knee with a ski pole.
“According to my grandson, visibility was very poor, there was dense fog and the speed on the descent was very high. One of the girls could not stand it and fell, and the others collapsed when they could not react in time.
There are fractures in the arms, legs, ribs. “My grandson’s knee was punctured with a stick and he had a very serious bruise on his shoulder,” Irina said.
At the same time, St. Evgenia Papushina, coach of young skiers from St. Petersburg, said in an interview with socialbites.ca that the organizers are not to blame for what happened.
“I will not comment on anything because there is nothing to comment on. The weather was normal in the beginning. Papushina said that the waterfall was not the fault of the organizers.
The prosecutor’s office will launch an investigation
Sochi’s Adler district prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the injuries of skiers.
“All victims received medical aid, their lives and health are not in danger. “The actions of the event organizers and officials will be evaluated during the inspections,” the statement said. expression The press service of the prosecutor’s office of the Krasnodar region is on the Telegram channel.
Russian commentator Dmitry Guberniev said the race organizers could face criminal liability.
“As far as I know, a criminal case will be opened regarding the incident in Laura. Criminal negligence…” the journalist wrote. telegram channel.