Watching extreme athletes perform, I am often so dazzled by their athleticism that I forget how dangerous their stunts and tricks really are. Yet, there is a reason the word extreme is used to describe them, and sadly sometimes they don’t survive their daring tricks.
That was the case for freeskier Sarah Burke, who passed away nine days after a crash during training in a superpipe on January 10. The Canadian skier who owns six gold medals from the Winter X Games had been in a coma since the accident. The crash severed an artery that created severe bleeding on the brain and resulted in cardiac arrest.
After all the success and hype that snowboarding and Shaun White brought to the Olympics, Burke was instrumental in lobbying successfully to get her sport added to the Olympic Winter Games. I am sure she would have loved to have had freeskiing as part of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in her own country, but Burke certainly would have been a favorite to earn a gold medal for Canada when the sport makes its Olympic debut in 2014. Although we know Burke won’t be there, I am not sure if any Ethiopians will compete in the next Winter Olympics.
Burke, who was only 29 years old, had alerted her family prior to the accident that she wanted to donate her organs and tissues if anything ever happened to her. So despite the tragic loss of a young athlete, somewhere else other families are celebrating that their loved ones can begin to lead healthier lives.
