Swedish snowboarder Jonatan Johansson dies during training

Source : http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2006/03/12/Sports/snowboarder_dies060312.html

Swedish snowboarder dies during training
WebPosted Sun, 12 Mar 2006 15:51:04 EST
CBC Sports

Tragedy quickly overcame triumph Sunday on Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks, as Swedish snowboarder Jonatan Johansson died after falling badly during his run.

The 26-year-old, who competed recently at the Torino Olympics, made a bad landing on one of his jumps during training for an International Ski Federation World Cup competition, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association spokesman Tom Kelly.

"He had a problem on his landing," Kelly said.

Details of the crash were not immediately available, but officials revealed that Johansson was wearing a helmet and landed within the course boundaries.

Olympic Regional Development Authority spokesman Sandy Caligiore said he didn't hit a tree, a pole or any other obstacle.

Johansson crashed on the Boreen Trail, which has special snowboardcross features constructed for competition. He was alone on a section of the trail when he fell.

He was transported to Adirondack Medical Center in nearby Lake Placid, where he was pronounced dead, according to hospital spokeswoman Beth Donahue.

An autopsy will be performed Monday at the medical facility's main center in Saranac Lake.

Johansson had been competing at the World Cup level since 2000. He finished 12th in snowboardcross at Turin. He was ranked 45th in the World Cup standings this season.

Whiteface, down the road from Lake Placid, was hosting the four-day World Cup event. The rest of the snowboardcross event was canceled.

with files from Associated Press
http://www.torino2006.org/resources/ATH/img_101320.jpg

How sad :sad: RIP...

:sad:

how bad do you have to fall for it to kill you? geez...

:eek: :sad:

:sad:

:sad:

:eek: :sad: Such bad luck

:sad:

Poor Guy

:eek: :sad:

This is sport used to be undergound, with no money or pressure of main stream competition. Now that it has become an olymoic sport, with sponsors and all the trappings of other professional sports, there couldb more of these accident due to added pressure to perfom.

Frankly, I wished it had stayed underground, with its free spirit and
anti-establishment profile.
I am not implying here that the pressure to perform caused this tragic accident.

http://www.torino2006.org/resources/ATH/img_101320.jpg

How sad :sad: RIP...

What a beautiful boy :(

:sad:

how bad do you have to fall for it to kill you? geez...

not badly...but you have to be extremely unlucky and land in a certain spot. :(

It's quite sad. :sad:

Poor guy.

:sobbing:

:sad: :sad:

:sad:

Really sad :sad:

How sad and incredibly unlucky.

:sad:

That's awful :sad:

:sad: :sad:

that's sad :sad: :sad:

omg! that's really awful :sad:

i wonder if he is the first ever snowboarder to die

An autopsy found the cause of death to be multiple internal injuries.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/03/13/SPGK9HN6U71.DTL

I've heard of snowboarders getting hit by avalanches but this is strange.

OMG, that is tragic :sad:

This is really sad, unfortunately people die on ski slopes every week -it's a very dangerous thing to be doing. :sad:

really really sad

:sad:

:sobbing:

That's horrible. :(

Well, snowboard cross is a hellish discipline. Their speed is crazy, and sometimes devastating. :sad:

Damn, how unfortunate.

omg! that's really awful :sad:

i wonder if he is the first ever snowboarder to die

I read in the newspaper then it's second died in 2 years :sad: