No Airbags for Olympic Skiers at Sochi in 2014

Airbags for Olympic skiers are not quite ready for prime time.  These safety devices will not be used by competitors in this year’s winter Olympic Games in Sochi. The airbags are designed to offer protection to the chest, shoulders and collarbones, and can absorb up to 61 percent of the force of an impact. Improvements in technology have enabled scientists to not only equip our motor vehicles with this safety equipment, but our bodies as well !

But the issue surrounding the protective gear is how to determine when a skier is actually out of control and about to crash, vs. doing what he is supposed to be doing — namely, careening down the mountain at a very high rate of speed.  Although the bags are capable of distinguishing a landing (off of a jump) from a fall, the manufacturer has not yet perfected identifying the moment before an actual crash. According to a recent article, the International Olympic Committee has not sought fit to adopt this safety equipment.

You may remember the old TV show on ABC called “Wide World of Sports.”  If so, then you can probably still hear these words spoken during the intro:  “…the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat…”  And you can probably still picture the dramatic scene of a skier crashing at the end of a run. Air bag technology may have ameliorated that unfortunate athlete’s injuries. Herndon athlete’s lawyer Doug Landau remembers, even at a very young age, being impressed with the dangers of extreme winter sports like downhill skiing, ski jumping and bobsled.  In the 1970’s, who would have thought technology would one day exist to protect athletes in the event of a serious crash? Lawyer Landau is concerned, however, that while remarkable, the improvements in equipment are not enough.  Instead, more money and research needs to be dedicated to improving the safety of the sport itself to lessen the incidence of dangerous crashes in the first place. “It is heartbreaking to see an athlete invest four years of time, effort and training, only to have it go for naught because of a traumatic injury that could have been prevented with current technology and sports equipment”  adds Landau.  Hoping that these quadrennial games are not marred by catastrophic or permanent injury, Landau would rather they be remembered for the high level of competition and the laudable Olympic spirit.