Warning: Video below shows a deadly accident.
GRINDELWALD, Switzerland — Canadian racer Nik Zoricic died from head injuries after crashing in a World Cup skicross event on Saturday, the International Ski Federation said.
The 29-year-old Zoricic died as a result of “severe neurotrauma,” the federation said in a statement.
Zoricic crashed directly into safety nets lining the side of the course after going wide over the final jump. Television showed Zoricic tumbling through the nets as his skis and poles were thrown clear.
“Nik Zoricic fell heavily just before the finish in the round of eight, crashing directly into the safety netting and thereafter lying motionless,” the federation said. “The medical care from team doctors and Air Glacier followed immediately.
“The organizing committee, FIS and Swiss Ski express their deepest condolences to the family and friends of Nik Zoricic and the Canadian Ski Team,” the statement said.
Organizers canceled World Cup events for men and women on Saturday, along with the scheduled World Cup Finals races at the same venue on Sunday.
“Nik was a very talented young ski racer and a great athlete who was much loved by his teammates and fellow competitors,” Alpine Canada president Max Gartner said in a statement. “He will be greatly missed by all of us and the ski community as a whole.”
Zoricic has raced on the World Cup circuit for more than three years and was competing in his 36th event. He placed eighth in the 2011 World Championships at Deer Valley, Utah.
Zoricic is the second Canadian skier to die this season.
In January, 29-year-old freestyle skier Sarah Burke died following a training accident on a halfpipe in Utah.
Zoricic was a member of the Craigleith Ski Club in Ontario.
“I can’t believe this tragic news. Nik Zoricic has died? I’m sick to my stomach,” former Canadian Alpine racer Brian Stemmle wrote on Twitter.
U.S. racer Ted Ligety also posted a message of condolence for Zoricic on Twitter soon after winning a World Cup giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
“Skiing is a great sport that gives but it also takes, sad day to lose Nik Zoricic, you’ll be missed bud,” Ligety wrote.
Grindelwald has been a venue on the skicross World Cup circuit since 2005. The Swiss village beneath the Eiger and Jungfrau mountain peaks was hosting a meet for the fifth straight year.
Statement by Alpine Canada:
GRINDELWALD, SUI (March 10, 2012) – Ski cross racer Nik Zoricic passed away Saturday after he was involved in a crash at a World Cup race in Grindelwald, Switzerland.
Zoricic, of Toronto, Ont., crashed in the finish area during the fourth heat of the ski cross finals. Zoricic, 29, sustained head injuries and was airlifted to hospital in Interlaken, Switzerland, where he was pronounced dead at 12:35 p.m. local time (Central European Time). The cause of death was “severe neurotrauma.”
“Ski cross national team member Nik Zoricic passed away this morning after he was involved in a crash at a ski cross World Cup race in Grindelwald, Switzerland,” said Max Gartner, president of Alpine Canada.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with Nik’s parents and his family.
“Nik was a very talented young ski racer and a great athlete who was much loved by his teammates and fellow competitors. He will be greatly missed by all of us and the ski community as a whole.”
No further heats took place following the crash and Saturday’s World Cup race was cancelled. The International Ski Federation (FIS) has also cancelled Sunday’s World Cup race.
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RIP.
I heard this on the news this morning - very sad
