"If you look at this whole sport, the edges seem to be everywhere," said American Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who won a silver medal in the Super-G last week. "We always evaluate the risk and try to take as much risk as possible without crossing the line," said Cochran-Siegle.
Already in Beijing, there have been snowboard cross falls, figure skating falls and daily short-distance speed skating pileups, which they compare to NASCAR. American Nina O'Brien broke her leg after falling from a giant slalom. "If you don't have a perfect landing on the edge, you're kind of in trouble," said Zoe Kalapos, an American snowboarder. In some sports, the literal border is accompanied by a figurative one.
Two-time gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin faced both in Beijing. American snowboarder Shaun White needed to take his second race in qualifying to reach the final on the U-ramp. Cochran-Siegle said most skiers in Beijing had suffered major injuries at some point in their careers.
Source: AP News
