Snowboarders condemn decision to stage final in ‘dangerous’ conditions

The organisers of the Winter Olympics have been accused of putting athletes’ safety in jeopardy after they allowed the women’s slopestyle final to go ahead in what the snowboarders branded “dangerous” conditions amid multiple crashes.

The ski-jumping, skiing and snowboarding competitions have all been affected by the weather in Pyeongchang in the first few days of the Games, with the men’s downhill race and Monday’s women’s giant slalom both put back until Thursday because of high winds.

The slopestyle competition, however, was given the all-clear by the International Ski Federation (FIS), but the decision immediately came into question when six of the first seven riders crashed as the 30mph gusts and unpredictable crosswinds played havoc.

By the end there were only nine clean runs out of 52 in total, with riders falling, face-planting or pulling up because they couldn’t build enough speed. The Finnish rider Enni Rukajärvi, who won the bronze medal, was one of several riders to criticise organisers. “The weather was bad and too dangerous, and I got a lot of wind in my run,” she said. “They should have cancelled it, or moved it.”

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Austria’s Anna Gasser, who entered among the favourites but finished 15th, decried it as a “lottery” before criticising the FIS for its decision. “I don’t think it was a fair competition and I’m a little disappointed in the organisation that they pulled through with it.

“So many people got hurt because of the wind already,” she added, in reference to the 17-year-old Australian snowboarder Tess Coady, who blamed the wind for a training crash on Sunday which led to a torn ACL ligament in her knee, ruling her out of the competition.

Two statements

The FIS was forced to issue two statements in the aftermath of Monday’s competition as the criticism built.

“The first priority is the safety of the athletes and FIS would never stage a competition if this could not be assured,” the second statement read. “The FIS jury monitored the weather conditions closely throughout the day, including consulting with the coaches, and considered it was within the boundaries to stage the competition safely.

“FIS always aims for the athletes to be able to stage their best performances, which some athletes have expressed was not the case today, but the nature of outdoor sports also requires adapting to the elements.”

However, Jenny Jones, the British Sochi 2014 slopestyle bronze medallist, said it was shocking that the final was allowed to continue once it became clear how much the athletes were struggling.

“It was a total lottery,” she said. “I wonder what went on in those conversations and why somebody didn’t say ‘let’s postpone this’.

“Of course it’s not safe. It’s an extreme sport. You’re jumping off a 60-foot kicker and you’re almost sailing on your board. Luckily nobody was badly injured. I’d be asking why this whole thing carried on.”

More disruption

Winter Olympics organisers are preparing for more disruption, with the head of Pyeongchang 2018, Sung Baik-you, warning that heavy winds were again forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. He stressed that he could not be certain when things would improve enough to allow the gondolas used by skiers to get up the mountain to be used and the skiing competition to start.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dismissed suggestions that the Games, which are due to finish on Sunday week, could overrun. The IOC’s head of communications, Mark Adams, insisted: “There’s plenty of time, there are reserve places for competition,” before downplaying suggestions that some events may have to be cancelled. “We’re on day three so I’m hoping that won’t happen. Come back to me on day 14.”

Adams also insisted it was up to the individual federations to decide whether to hold an event. “Each federation has a wealth of experience so we bow to that,” he added. “We would never take a decision that would put in question the safety of the athletes. Obviously we are consulted, but we bow to the federations.” – Guardian