Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke dead at 29
Thursday, January 19, 2012
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died Thursday, nine days after crashing at the bottom of the superpipe during a training run in Utah.
Burke, who lived near Whistler in British Columbia, was 29. She was injured Jan. 11while training at a personal sponsor event at the Park City Mountain resort.
Tests revealed Burke sustained "irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest," according to a statement released by Burke's publicist.
A four-time Winter X Games champion, Burke crashed on the same halfpipe where snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a traumatic brain injury during a training accident on Dec. 31, 2009.
Burke was the best-known athlete in her sport and will be remembered for the legacy she left for women in freestyle skiing.
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