Skip to main content
Global Edition
Friday, March 29, 2024

IOC "saddened" by accident during Youth Olympic Games rehearsal

Duration: 00:44s 0 shares 1 views

IOC 'saddened' by accident during Youth Olympic Games rehearsal
IOC "saddened" by accident during Youth Olympic Games rehearsal

The Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday (January 8) said it was "saddened" by the accident that happened the day before on the Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony rehersal, in which a 35 year old Russian ice-skating artist was seriously injured, her vital prognosis being at stake, according information released by the local police.

SHOWS: LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (JANUARY 8, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) SPOKESMAN, MARK ADAMS, SAYING: "We obviously at the IOC (International Olympic Committee) are very saddened to hear that one of the performers in the opening ceremony it appears they were rehearsing had an accident yesterday.

I don't know the exact details of what happened and I believe there is some inquiry into that at the moment, so it would be wrong for me to speculate on that, but obviously we are very saddened to hear that she is not well, she is in the CHUV (Vaud Canton Hospital University Center), which is the local hospital here in Lausanne, and we wish her a very speedy recovery." 2.

WHITE FLASH 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) SPOKESMAN, MARK ADAMS, SAYING: "It is in the hands...At the moment, obviously, there is an investigation trying to work out what is going on with the cantonal police, obviously we wish her well, and we hope she makes a full recovery, We hope that will happen quickly, but I don't have anything more from the statement we issued this morning." STORY: The Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday (January 8) said it was "saddened" by the accident that happened the day before on the Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony rehersal, in which a 35 year old Russian ice-skating artist was seriously injured, her vital prognosis being at stake, according information released by the local police.

A spokesman for the IOC, Mark Adams said that he did not know much about the details of what happened and that he could not say more, a criminal investigation having been opened by the police, but they were wishing the artist a speedy and full recovery.

According to the Swiss police, on Tuesday evening, for a reason the investigation will have to determine, the artist who lives in Germany suddenly lost equilibrium and fell from about a five meters height, as she was being taken up and tracted through a system of a ring which was connected via a cable to an engine fixed to the ceiling of the skating rink.

She was transported to Lausanne hospital and is now in a critical condition.

The comments came during a news briefing in Lausanne, on the sidelines of the IOC Executive Committee meeting.

Following the meeting, the IOC announced that all scheduled competitions in Lausanne 2020 would happen, with the course at Les Diablerets however having to be shortened by several hundred meters.

Unusually warm weather this winter, combined with a lack of snow and heavy rain have affected preparations for the Youth Games, but St Moritz, which hosted two editions of the Winter Games in 1928 and 1948 and prides itself as the birthplace of modern winter sports, confirmed only days before the Lausanne 2020 winter Youth Olympics that its lake was iced up and ready for speed skating events.

Among other hot topics for the Executive Board meeting, the recent World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) ban on Russia to participate into international sports events.

But Adams said the IOC did not and will not discuss the details of Russian athletes' participation at the Tokyo 2020 Games until after a final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

No date yet has been set for a CAS ruling on Russia.

Among the details to be finalized are the size and overall appearance and uniforms for the independent team made up of Russian athletes who are eligible to compete based on their anti-doping record as well as the sports they will compete in.

You might like