Justin Dorey to remain out of action for a month following crash at Winter X Games Aspen 2012
Canadian freeskier Justin Dorey made an impact during the men’s Ski SuperPipe Final at Winter X Games Aspen 2011 in Aspen, Colorado, on Saturday, January 28. However, it was not exactly the sort of impact that he was hoping to make.
The 23-year-old Dorey was up against some of the best freeskiers from around the globe, all of whom were just as determined to put on an excellent show for the crowd and judges as he was during Saturday’s Final. After failing to land his first run cleanly,
the Squamish-native decided to step up his effort and went for a dangerously technical Run 2.
The run started off great and filled him up with the confidence to go for a switch double cork 1080 right after sticking a double flat-spin 720. The switch double cork 1080 run had earned him a silver medal at Winter X Games Europe last year and a successful
integration of the trick in his run during Saturday’s Final was expected to make him a strong contender for a place on the podium.
As he soared into the air off his fifth hit during Run 2, everyone witnessing the scene held their breath, ready to cheer their lungs out once he was done with the trick. However, Dorey did not give them a chance to do that as he slammed into the deck of
the halfpipe, with both his skis flying into the air. His body absorbed the impact like a rag doll plummeting eight feet onto hard snow and eventually crumpling to the flat bottom.
The impact with the deck looked ugly and his motionless figure on the flat bottom seemed more alarming as the medics rushed towards him. Fortunately, he began to move after a while and was eventually seen limping off the crash site nursing just his left
shoulder.
According to the official diagnosis of his injuries, he suffered a partially dislocated shoulder, a few contusions and bruises on his right leg and hips.
While the dislocated shoulder has not been giving Dorey much trouble since the crash, the excruciating pain in his legs is becoming a constant reminder of the impact that he made with the deck and then falling to the flat bottom.
“I didn't tweak my knees or anything, but a lot of the swelling has gone into my right knee. It's just painful and it wakes me up when I sleep,” Dorey said of the pain in his legs.
The Canadian freeskier admitted after watching the footage of his crash in slow-motion that he was indeed lucky to have walked away from it on his own feet.
“I missed my takeoff,” he conceded. “It's definitely one of the hardest crashes I've ever taken in my whole life. From the video, it looks like I would've broken all the ribs on my right side, but I just have some bruising on my right leg and that's about
it for the right side. I actually dislocated my left shoulder from falling to the flat bottom.”
Dorey has been competing in Winter X Games for the last six years but is yet to make the SuperPipe podium. He did, however, earn silver medal during Winter X SuperPipe High Air in 2010 and a silver medal in 2011 Winter X Games Europe.
The B.C-based freeskier feels that he will be fit to make his return to skiing by March 1 and hopes to compete in the upcoming edition of Winter X Games Tignes that is scheduled to get underway in the third week of March.
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