Swiss bobsleigher has surgery after being run over by own sled
Sandro Michel (left) and Michael Vogt in Innsbruck in December
KEYSTONE
Swiss bobsleigh athlete Sandro Michel was in a stable condition in hospital on Wednesday after surgery for injuries suffered when he was thrown to the ice and hit by the sled.
This content was published on
2 minutes
AP
Michel was in the Swiss four-man crew piloted by Michael Vogt which crashed on Tuesday in training at Altenberg, Germany, ahead of World Cup races.
“As a result, the brakeman Sandro Michel fell off the sled and was run over by the bobsleigh which was uncontrollably sliding back from the finish area,” the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation said in a statement.
Michel lost consciousness in the crash and was airlifted from the track. He had surgery for hip and thigh injuries at a hospital in Dresden and also has chest injuries, the governing body said.
The Swiss team said Vogt “suffered a severe concussion and bruises” and the push athletes Dominik Hufschmid and Andreas Haas also had slight injuries.
“Swiss Sliding is deeply saddened by this accident and wishes Sandro Michel, Michael Vogt, Dominik Hufschmid, and Andreas Haas a speedy and full recovery,” the team said in a statement.
“The federation has left it up to the other Swiss teams in Altenberg to decide whether they want to participate in today’s remaining training sessions and the races over the weekend.”
Vogt and Michel are an experienced team who placed fourth at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in two-man bob and took bronze at the world championships last year.
The pair won a World Cup race in December and are third in the seasonlong standings. Vogt’s four-man bob crew is fourth in that discipline’s World Cup standings.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
This content was published on
Swiss companies are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals. In the past quarter, every single company in this country was the target of a cyber attack an average of 1097 times a week.
Swiss households faced 21 minutes of power outages in 2024
This content was published on
End customers experienced an average of 21 minutes of electricity interruption in 2024. This resulted in 0.34 power outages per capita. The duration of electricity interruptions increased by three minutes compared to the previous year.
Swiss citizens will be voting on restricting wind farm expansion
This content was published on
On Friday, the Association for the Protection of Nature and Democracy submitted two initiatives aimed at curbing the expansion of wind farms. More than 110,000 signatures have been collected.
E-bike riders regularly break speed limit in residential areas
This content was published on
Fast e-bikes regularly exceed the speed limit in residential areas. According to a new study with data on cyclists in Zurich, they regularly reach speeds of over 30 km/h.
This content was published on
Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling to find staff, a problem made more acute by the increased bargaining power of employees and increased absenteeism.
Switzerland very close to tariff deal with the US, says Roche CEO
This content was published on
An understanding between Berne and Washington in the dispute over customs barriers is close: Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker is convinced of this.
This content was published on
Late on Thursday in Geneva, pro-Palestinian demonstrators attacked the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in the international organisations district. They poured red paint over the entrance to the building.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.