Deadspin is reporting that training for the women’s downhill skiing event in Sochi has been halted because one of the jumps is way too big.
“Training for the women’s downhill was delayed by more than an hour today, after the first three skiers down the course complained that one particular jump was way too intense, with one of them injuring both knees. Why wasn’t this caught in testing? That’s sort of embarrassing, actually.
It seems the course was tested by forerunners who couldn’t match the speeds that the actual competitors would hit, so when they went off the hump near the finish, they didn’t catch nearly as much air and didn’t notice it would be a problem.
“I’m upset they didn’t have more expert forerunners,” said Italian Daniela Merighetti, who injured both knees upon landing and was visibly furious after her run. “They would’ve known not to send us down.”
American Laurenne Ross was the first woman down the course: “You’re welcome, I’ll be your test dummy,” she said. Upon hitting that last hump, she said, “you feel like you’re never going to come down.” She complained to organizers, as did the next skier, Italy’s Verena Stuffer. Then, when Merighetti hurt herself on the same spot, organizers called a halt to training so the hump could be shaved to cut down on airtime.
Even skiers who hadn’t gone down yet were flabbergasted that this was even an issue.”
Keep reading @ Deadspin