Skier Sarah Burke Dies After Skiing Accident

Freestyle skiing legend Sarah Burke — a 4-time X Games gold medal winner — died today from injuries sustained during a recent skiing accident.

The pioneering Canadian freestyler, who helped get superpipe accepted into the Olympics, died Thursday after a January 10 crash during a training run in Park City, Utah.
Sarah Burke, who lived near Whistler, in British Columbia, was 29.
“Sarah was the one who, in a very positive way, stood in the face of adversity and asked, `Why not?“’ said Peter Judge, the CEO of Canada’s freestyle team. “What she would have wanted was for her teammates and others in her sport to stand up and also say, `Why not?’ To benefit from the significant opportunities available to them, being able to compete in the Olympics and the X Games. Those were the things she wanted and cherished and fought for.”
A four-time Winter X Games champion, Burke crashed on the same halfpipe where snowboarder Kevin Pearce sustained a traumatic brain injury during a training accident on Dec. 31, 2009.

Tests revealed she sustained “irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest,” according to a statement released by her publicist, Nicole Wool, on behalf of the family.
She said Burke’s organs and tissues were donated, as the skier had requested before the accident.
“The family expresses their heartfelt gratitude for the international outpouring of support they have received from all the people Sarah touched,” the statement said.