Olympic Snowboarding hopeful Kevin Pearce critically injured

[DesertRat]

Top Olympic snowboarding hopeful Kevin Pearce is in critical condition, injured while training in Park City, Utah, for next week's Olympics qualifier at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.

Pearce, 22, hit his head above one of his eyes on an icy halfpipe wall and was knocked unconscious, reports Pete Thomas on his blog.

Pearce was airlifted to the University of Utah hospital, where he had surgery Thursday evening to relieve fluid buildup on his brain. He remains in critical but stable condition.

Pearce, of Norwich, Vt., has been considered a favorite to make the U.S. Olympic Team. He is one of the few competitors to challenge snowboarder Shaun White, besting him at the Burton European Open in 2008 and 2009 and taking the silver medal at last winter's X Games, losing the gold medal to White by one point.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2010/01/snowboarder-kevin-pearce-critical-condition.html

[lazarus]

1. why

do these people not wear helmets? Or do I not know what I'm talking about? :shrug:

[melm00se]

2. according to one article

he was