Maria Komissarova

Maria Komissarova
Personal information
Born (1990-09-05) September 5, 1990 (age 34)
Leningrad, Soviet Union
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb; 11.2 st)
Life partnerAlexei Chaadaev
Sport
Country Russia
Sport Freestyle skiing
Coached byVladimir Baryshnikov
Mario Reyfettseder
Updated on 16 February 2014

Maria Leonidovna Komissarova (Russian: Мария Леонидовна Комиссарова; born September 5, 1990) is a Russian athlete who competes in freestyle skiing. She was due to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics, but during a training run before her event, she fractured a vertebra with a dislocation of her spine, rendering her unable to compete.

Career

Komissarova was born on 5 September 1990,[1] in Leningrad, Soviet Union (today St. Petersburg).[2]

At the 2012 World Cup in Grindelwald, Switzerland, Maria Komissarova became the first-ever Russian woman to win a medal in the World Cup in ski cross, placing second.[3] She has been described as the "face of Russian freestyle skiing".[4]

In 2013, surgery on a leg injury meant that Komissarova was unable to compete for six months.[3]

Komissarova was due to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[1] However, while training at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park[5] on the ski cross course on 15 February 2014, she suffered a spinal cord injury with a fracture and dislocation of the twelfth thoracic vertebra.[3][6] Komissarova was rushed into surgery which lasted six and a half hours.[5] The Russian Federation, for which she was competing, said, "Doctors carried out the necessary examination and took the decision to operate on her on the spot".[3] Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said, "We hope that the operation will be successful and that she will be back".[3] She was due to compete on the 21 February 2014,[3] but it was announced after the accident that she would not be competing.[5] Hers was the first serious injury of the 2014 Olympic Games.[3]

On the same day Komissarova was admitted to hospital, on the evening of 15 February 2014,[7] Vladimir Putin visited the skier[8] and spoke to her father.[7]

On 16 February 2014, the day after the incident, Komissarova was moved to a Munich hospital where she underwent further surgery on 17 February.[9][10] Komissarova said in an Instagram update at the end of February that she was paralyzed from the waist and down.[11] The Russian Freestyle Federation has called for donations to cover her medical costs.[12] She hopes to recover, saying "some day I will definitely be on my feet again".[13] However, on 5 March, the opinion of her doctors was published stating she would never fully recover.[14] £400,000 has been raised for her treatment.

References

  1. ^ a b "Maria KOMISSAROVA". Sochi.ru. Archived from the original on February 16, 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Комиссарова Мария Леонидовна". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Sochi 2014: Maria Komissarova has surgery after breaking spine". BBC. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Russian Sochi pin-up paralysed in training spill - 9News". 27 February 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Hart, Simon (15 February 2014). "Winter Olympics 2014: Russian skier Maria Komissarova forced to undergo back surgery following training crash". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  6. ^ Sonne, Paul (16 February 2014). "Russian Skier Komissarova Airlifted to German Clinic for Treatment". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Injured skier Komissarova 'grave but stable' after spinal surgery". Fox Sports. 16 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Sochi 2014: Putin visits skier Maria Komissarova in hospital". BBC. 16 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Injured Olympic skier has surgery in Germany". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  10. ^ Lyall, Sarah; Herszenhorn, David M. (16 February 2014). "Russian Skier Who Broke Her Spine Is Moved to a German Hospital". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  11. ^ Reuters: Russian Skier Was Paralyzed in Sochi FallNew York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2014
  12. ^ "Ski Federation Appeals for Donations Toward Komissarova's Treatment". The Moscow Times. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Russian freestyle skier Maria Komissarova left paralysed". BBC. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  14. ^ Разбившаяся в Сочи фристайлистка Комиссарова останется инвалидом (in Russian). Lenta.ru. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.