Skiing fans throughout Scottsdale had been rooting for Canadian freestyle skiier Sarah Burke since news broke of her skiing accident last week. Thursday afternoon, TMZ is sharing the news that Burke has died as a result of her injuries. Burke and her husband, Rory Bushfield, are thought of as “skiing royalty,” and her death will be a huge blow to the sport. Burke was a 4-time X Games gold medal winner, and fans are deeply saddened to learn that the accident caused injuries too severe to allow her recovery.
TMZ shares that 29-year-old Sarah Burke suffered cardiac arrest shortly after the skiing accident on January 10. It has been said that she had just finished a trick during a training run in Park City and bounced from her feet to head, a type of fall that had those involved perplexed. She was airlifted to a nearby hospital and underwent extensive surgery, in part to repair a major artery tear. Burke was then put on life support and it was confirmed she had a traumatic brain injury. Thursday afternoon her publicist confirmed that Sarah passed away surrounded by family and friends.
Sarah Burke is survived by husband Rory Bushfield, a fellow freestyle skier. She was the winningest woman in freestyle skiing, and she had been a prominent advocate for making the sport available for women. She was said to be one of the best female skiiers on Earth, but she was also a beauty that caught attention on the red carpets. She was injured during a training run for the X-Games, and she's known for pushing herself hard to always up the ante in competitions.
News reports are now sharing that Sarah Burke was an organ donor, which has led fans to be even more touched by this story than they already were. The family has shared that those looking for ways to help or donate in Sarah's honor may visit Give Forward. As of this writing, the site seems to be experiencing enormous volumes of traffic, but fans are encouraged to keep trying.
This year's X Games competition begins on Thursday, January 26. The competition will be covered on ABC, channel 15 in Scottsdale, ESPN, channel 33 on Cox cable, and ESPN2, channel 32. Certainly the participants in this year's games will have Sarah Burke, her husband, family and friends on their minds with her passing so closely tied to this year's events. Fans are flooding Twitter with their condolences, and her name is already trending as the news spreads. Everyone sends their thoughts and prayers to Sarah Burke's family during this tragic time.
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