Austrian Skier Lazinger Lower Left Leg Amputated

Tuesday Matthias Lanzinger had to have the lower part of his left leg amputated after a horrible crash Sunday during a World Cup Super G race in Kvitfjell, Norway. Mathias Lanzinger, a 27 year old member of the Austrian National Ski Team suffered a broken "shinbone and fibula." "Organizers of the race in Kvitfjell, Norway, were criticized as there was no medical helicopter available at the event Sunday. Lanzinger was flown to a hospital in Lillehammer with a tourist helicopter, and was later brought to Oslo."

It is a shame Mathias had to have his leg partially amputated. Lanzinger certainly had many hopes and dreams crash with him Sunday. His career best had been a 3rd place finish in a World Cup Super G and he was a member of one of the best ski teams in the world. At 27 he certainly had several years of ski racing at the elite level left in him.

A Super G race is considered a speed event in Alpine(downhill) ski racing. There are 4 types of alpine ski races. The first one is slalom, which has the most gates, consists of shorter radius turns. The next is GS or Giant Slalom. These consist of fewer gates and turns are larger and the speeds increase. Downhill ski racing is the traditional speed event, with the fewest gates and fast speeds. The Super G, standing for Super Giant, is a cross between the GS and downhill. It has fewer gates and higher speeds than a GS. However, it has more gates than a downhill and is a little more technical than the downhill.

Please use caution when viewing the next hyperlink. It links to video of the crash, some may find it graphic. Looking at video from WCSN.COM, Lanzinger had caught air before the gate on a very tight line, on his landing he goes through the panel gates. At this point he is probably going in excess of 60 miles per hours. In my opinion, if he lands a few inches in the course he does not crash. His injuries may have been less if his skis would have came off earlier. However, Lanzinger has the commentator points out has the bindings set high. These are the din settings on the bindings. The bindings hold your boot to the ski. The lower they are set, the sooner they will release the ski. The higher they are set they will hold the ski to your boot longer. However, the higher your din settings the greater chance of knee or leg injury if something goes wrong. A din setting to low could cause the ski to pre-release which could create crashes.

Norway did take precautions to run a safe race. It is obvious from the safety netting and the quick response from ski patrol. Should a medical helicopter been available? One can always second guess and say yes. Their was a tourist helicopter available which was a help. Was to much time lost in his treatment? If he arrived at the hospital sooner would the end results have been better? I don't know the answer. Did Matthias know their were risks involved in the Super G? He knew without a doubt.

Sources:
Fox Sports
WCSN.com
My own experience as a skier and ski racer