Macartney Recovering After High Speed Crash
INNSBRUCK, Austria (Jan. 20) - Two-time Olympian Scott Macartney (Crystal Mountain, WA) said Sunday he remembered his run during the 68th Hahnenkamm downhill but has no memory of the high-speed crash, which put him in a hospital. He's looking forward, though, to returning to racing.
Macartney, who was marking his 30th birthday, had been savoring one of his most successful seasons. He claimed the first downhill podium of his career when he was third last month on the rugged course in Val Gardena, Italy.
He suffered a severe concussion Saturday when he crashed coming off the last jump on the famed Streif in Kitzbuehel and slid across the finish line. After being taken to a Kitzbuehel hospital, he was taken by helicopter to University of Innsbruck Hospital and spent the night in the intensive care unit.
"My run felt pretty good," he said. "I nailed the sections up above that I wanted to and I carried good speed. I think I was fifth up there and, overall, I had a really good run. But I'm not sure what I did on the last jump. Maybe I didn't move forward enough or something, but I got out of balance in the air and crashed."
Macartney had, indeed, nailed his targeted sections. He was number two in the second intermediate section and had a pair of top-10 intermediate times. He was second fastest at the first speed trap, fifth at the second and was the fastest on the bottom at 141.2 kph.
He slept through the night "and I've kind of been dozing through the day," he said. U.S. Head Coach Phil McNichol and waxing technician Dave Coombs were with Macartney as he watched the slalom from Kitzbuehel on television.
"It's hard to say at what point I'm coming back to racing. I'd like to get right back but I have to take care of a couple of bumps and bruises," he said. He expects to return to the United States this week for further medical evaluation.
"I'm just trying to deal now with it in little pieces, and move on from here," said the Dartmouth College graduate, who came through the Crystal Mountain racing program.
McNichol, who was with Macartney in the hospital Saturday night, returned Sunday morning to catch the slalom on TV. "He's doing great, considering. His spirits are good. He's bummed because he crashed and lost what could have been a good result. He's got to go home for a closer medical examination, but he wants to stay and get back to racing. We've got a spot for him whenever the doctors say 'Scotty Mac' is ready to go again."
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Macartney Recovering After High Speed Crash
