GENEVA - Canadian Nik Zoricic died from head injuries after crashing in a World Cup skicross event at Grindelwald on Saturday.
The Toronto skier died at 12.35 p.m. Swiss time as a result of "severe neurotrauma," the International Ski Federation (FIS) said in a statement.
The 29-year-old Zoricic went wide over the final jump and landed directly into safety nets lining the side of the course. Television pictures 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 FIS said. "The medical care from team doctors and Air Glacier followed immediately. Despite reanimation, Zoricic died at 12.35 as a result of severe neurotrauma.
"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 Canadian team said Zoricic was pronounced dead at a hospital in Interlaken, where he had been airflifted from the course by helicopter.
"Our thoughts are first and foremost with Nik's parents and his family," Alpine Canada president Max Gartner said in a statement. "Nik was a very talented young ski racer and a great athlete who was much loved by his teammates and fellow competitors."
On its website in describing skicross, Alpine Canada says, ''It's been called NASCAR on skis.
"And winter sport’s answer to a roller derby. However you describe it, you can't claim ski cross — or skier-X, as it’s also known — is boring.''
Skicross is a sport Canadian athletes have excelled in, with Ashleigh McIvor of Whistler, B.C., capturing the Olympic gold medal in it at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
And when McIvor heard rumours the International Olympic Committee was considering the inclusion of skicross for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she wrote an essay for her University of British Columbia English class arguing it should be added.
In the essay, she compared skicross to BMX racing, which was about to make its debut at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The IOC made it official in November 2006, granting skicross entry to the Vancouver Games. The success and popularity of snowboard cross, which debuted at the 2006 Torino Olympics, was a major factor in the decision.
Organizers abandoned Saturday's World Cup events for men and women, and the scheduled World Cup final races at the same venue Sunday.
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 meeting for the fifth straight year.
"We are all very sad. It is unbelievable for us all," said Christoph Egger, president of the race organizing committee. " We are an experienced organizer but, nevertheless, skicross is a sport where four racers fight to win a race. In these circumstances there is a risk to fall or risk of injury, and since today we know there is a risk for death."
Egger said it was a "surprise" to see Zoricic's line of flight off the jump, though "we put the fences there because you have to protect the racers for the finish area."
Race organizers will work with FIS and the Swiss ski federation to analyze the accident and course security.
Egger said that "normal process" also requires an accident investigation by legal officers from the canton (state) of Bern.
Zoricic, a member of the Craigleith Ski Club in Ontario, has raced on the World Cup circuit for more than three years and was competing in his 36th event Saturday. He placed eighth in the 2011 world championships at Deer Valley, Utah.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Craigleith Ski Club said: "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our friend Nik Zoricic as a result of a tragic ski accident during a race in Europe. Our heart felt sympathies to the Zoricic family.''
Canadian Alpine racer Kelly VanderBeek wrote on Twitter that she grew up skiing with Zoricic and his father.
"I'm a mess, so I can only imagine how his family is. I'm so very sorry. Sending Love," she wrote.
"I can't believe this tragic news. Nik Zoricic has died? I'm sick to my stomach," former Canadian skier Brian Stemmle wrote on Twitter.
Zoricic is the second Canadian freestyle team member to die in a skiing accident this year.
In January, Winter X Games champion Sarah Burke died from her injuries nine days after crashing during halfpipe training in Park City, Utah. The resident of Squamish, B.C., was also 29.
American skier Ted Ligety also posted a message of condolence for Zoricic on Twitter soon after winning an Alpine 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.
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