Skier Sarah Burke died Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a crash on January 10 left her with "severe irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen," according to a statement released by her family. In what has been described as a "whiplash" fall during a superpipe training run at Park City Mountain Resort, Burke, 29, ruptured her vertebral artery and went into cardiac arrest. Emergency personnel on scene performed CPR and she was quickly flown to University of Utah Hospital, whe... Read More
British rower Andrew Brown on Sunday established a new world record for crossing the Atlantic alone, traveling 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to Barbados in 40 days and 9 hours. Brown, 26, bettered Emmanuel Coindre's 2004 solo record by two full days. His attempt was nearly derailed by cloudy skies that kept his solar-powered water filter from functioning, forcing him to ration water. Brown finished only 30 minutes behind a two-man boat that won the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Nin... Read More
A controversy over underwear has ski racers and officials up in arms following Slovenian skier Tina Maze's second-place run in a recent World Cup super-g while wearing a plastic compression suit. The International Ski Federation has yet to decide whether the new underwear—full-body composit plastic suits that may reduce wind drag at high speeds—violate rules about underwear moisture permeability. The controversy exploded after the Swiss ski federation challenged Maze's runner-up ... Read More
The Mexican Red Cross is sending emergency food aid to the indigenous Tarahumara people in northern Mexico after reports of crippling drought, widespread famine, and rumored suicide. Over the weekend, a local official posted a video on YouTube claiming that 50 Tarahumara had commited suicide after their crops failed. The Tarahumara are known for their their long-distance running ability and were featured in barefoot runner Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run. The regional Chihuahua govern... Read More
American climbers Hayden Kennedy and Canadian Jason Kruk made the first "fair means" ascent of the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre's southeast ridge on Monday in Patagonia. The pair climbed the 10,262-foot peak without using any of the 450 bolts placed by first acensionist Cesare Maestri in 1970. Alpinist Colin Haley, who watched the pair through a camera zoom lens, estimated that the climbers took approximately 13 hours to climb from their bivy on the shoulder of the mountain to the summit. M... Read More
