Sochi 2014: 'Wasn't the best day yesterday' - Rowan Cheshire thanks fans for support after halfpipe training crash

 
Robin Scott-Elliot17 February 2014

Rowan Cheshire woke up in a Russian hospital bed this morning with her face bloodied, battered and bruised. The 18-year-old freestyle skier suffered a bad fall on the slopes of the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park yesterday during a training run for Thursday’s halfpipe which left her unconscious.

Cheshire was taken to hospital last night in what Team GB officials described as a “precaution”. She tweeted a picture of herself this morning, saying: “Wasn’t the best day yesterday, still don’t remember much!”

A decision on whether she is fit enough to compete in the halfpipe will be made later in the week but the British Olympic Association announced she would be discharged today.

In a statement this morning, the BOA said: “Rowan had a restful night in hospital. The doctors were happy with her progress and she will return to the Athlete’s Mountain Village where she will be looked after by Team GB medical staff.

“Her progress will be monitored on a day-to-day basis as is standard with concussion and a determination regarding her ability to compete will be made later this week.”

Cheshire, the second youngest member of Team GB after room-mate Katie Summerhayes, is one of the ‘Fridge Kids’, Britain’s young freestyle skiers and snowboarders who learned their skills in the UK’s snow domes rather than on the slopes. Last month she became the first British woman to win a medal in a World Cup event and arrived here as one of the team’s leading medal hopes on snow.

Sunday’s accident was the fourth of the day in the Extreme Park while the Russian skier, Maria Komissarova, was flown to Germany last night for a second operation after breaking her back in a training accident at the Park on Saturday. Komissarova had fallen on the skicross course — the same one on which two snowboarders were injured yesterday — and was rushed to hospital in nearby Krasnaya Polyana for a six-and-a-half hour operation.

She was said to be in a “grave but stable” condition but the decision was taken last night to fly her to Munich for further surgery.

In this morning’s action, Eve Muirhead’s curlers ensured at least a play-off place as they chase one of the two remaining spots in the semi-finals. The world champions have had an erratic tournament and once again their form fluctuated through a tense encounter against Russia.

After a slow start Muirhead snatched a four on the eighth end to seemingly tie up the match. But Russia, who are already out, responded with three shots of their own to send it to a decisive final end. Crucially Britain held the hammer — the last stone — and it came down to Muirhead’s final shot. The 23-year-old held her nerve to blast out the Russian stone and claim three shots. It left Britain 9-6 winners, meaning that a victory over Denmark in this afternoon’s match would ensure a semi-final spot.

Britain could lose and still go through to the last four. China, Japan and Switzerland were the others battling for the two spots alongside Canada, who have won eight out of eight, and Sweden. At worst Britain would face a play-off.

10 quirky helmet designs from the Sochi 2014 skeleton track

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