Career over?

Sarrazin crash: team doctor gives gloomy update!

Cyprien Sarrazin crashed heavily in Bormio, hitting his head on the piste.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA, AP/Alessandro Trovati)

After Cyprien Sarrazin's horror crash in Bormio and the subsequent brain haemorrhage, the 30-year-old is now being treated in Lyon. The season is over for him. On Saturday, the French team doctor also gave a gloomy health update.

French downhill star Cyprien Sarrazin is no longer racing this winter. The consequences of his crash in training for the World Cup downhill in Bormio at the end of December are too serious. According to a federation doctor following Sarrazin's transfer to Lyon, the athlete's recovery will take months, not weeks. The continuation of the 30-year-old Kitzbühel winner's career is currently uncertain.

Sarrazin underwent surgery for a subdural hematoma, a hemorrhage near the brain, after his horror crash. He awoke from an induced coma last Saturday. In Lyon, Sarrazin, who is based in the neurosurgery department, will begin his rehabilitation. "Cyprien should be able to do the same things as everyone else - sit down, eat, stand up," explained Stéphane Bulle, the doctor for the French alpine skiing team.

Here is a video of the serious fall:

Diplopia
"He still has a little trouble opening his eyes - the consequences of diplopia. This means that the reflexes that control the coordination of the eyes are not yet functioning normally due to the increased pressure in the skull. He is seeing double at the moment," said Bulle. According to the doctor, Sarrazin is "still very tired and has difficulty communicating".

Regarding the continuation of Sarrazin's career as a ski racer, Bulle did not want to commit himself. "I can't say at the moment. In any case, it is the goal for all of us."