KITZBUEHEL, Austria — Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht was put in an induced coma Thursday after crashing in downhill training on the Streif course, one of the most dangerous on the World Cup circuit.
Albrecht, 25, lost control and flew through the air for about 40 yards, landed on his back and came to a stop near the finish line. He lost consciousness and received medical attention for about 20 minutes before being taken by helicopter to a hospital in nearby St. Johann.
“Daniel is in stable condition now. He woke up briefly, but doctors placed him in an artificial coma,” Swiss team spokeswomen Diana Faeh said. “He will be transported to a hospital in Innsbruck for further examinations on his injuries.”
Albrecht, the super-combined world champion, had a lung contusion and swelling of the brain, Faeh said. The induced coma is designed to allow the brain to recover.
Albrecht’s crash interrupted training for about 30 minutes. Bode Miller of the United States wound up with the fastest time when practice resumed, finishing in 1 minute, 55.95 seconds.
Coach charged in player’s death
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky high school football coach was charged with reckless homicide in the death of a player who collapsed during a sweltering practice in a rare criminal case against a coach in a heat death.
A grand jury indicted David Jason Stinson in the death of Pleasure Ridge Park offensive lineman Max Gilpin. Stinson, in his first year as head coach at the Louisville school, was directing practice Aug. 20 when the 15-year-old sophomore collapsed and had trouble breathing. The heat index, a measure of how hot it feels based on temperature and humidity, was 94 degrees that day.
The player had a temperature of 107 degrees when he arrived at the hospital, authorities said, and died three days later. No autopsy was performed, but it appeared Gilpin died from complications from heat stroke, according to the coroner’s office.
Armstrong confident Down Under
ADELAIDE, Australia — Lance Armstrong finished in the middle of the pack in the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under today.
The seven-time Tour de France winner’s position after the fourth stage wasn’t immediately known, but he sounded confident.
“This is still the first race back after a long time off,” he said, “so I would be fooling myself if I thought I was going to pound people.”
Overnight leader Allan Davis of Australia won the 88-mile stage in a bunch finish to extend his overall advantage in the six-stage race.
• Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory following a doping scandal, said he feels “like a kid again” knowing that his two-year ban from cycling will end next week. Landis will ride for the OUCH cycling team and debut at the Tour of California next month.
Footnotes.
Two-time MLS Cup MVP Dwayne De Rosario signed a four-year deal with FC Toronto.
• NASCAR announced its new Hall of Fame, scheduled to open next year in Charlotte, N.C., will have five inductees a year.
The Associated Press
