Maria Komissarova

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.

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

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. "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. "Sochi 2014: Maria Komissarova has surgery after breaking spine". BBC. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  4. https://www.9news.com.au/world/russian-sochi-athlete-paralysed-in-training-spill/7e805062-d70d-4708-abf8-2b28e81bab86
  5. Hart, Simon (15 February 2014). "Winter Olympics 2014: Russian skier Maria Komissarova forced to undergo back surgery following training crash". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 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. "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. Associated Press (18 February 2014). "Injured Olympic skier has surgery in Germany". The Washington Post. 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.
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