“Crash is unacceptable”: bobsled stars shoot against world association after Swiss autumn drama

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After the brutal crash and serious injury of Swiss pusher Sandro Michel (27), the bobsleigh world is no longer the same as before. The training that was canceled after the Michel tragedy will be rescheduled on Wednesday – but in addition to the concerns about Michel, there is also a lot of anger at the ice rink.

Many athletes are fed up. British pusher Greg Cackett (34), who is a kind of unofficial athlete spokesperson with his Instagram profile The Breakman, writes: “We consciously take a certain risk in our beautiful sport. But it is unacceptable how one of our best has been seriously injured.”

A disaster with an announcement

The pusher who fell from the bobsled and slid back onto the track upside down from the rising finish line was run over by his own sled. A four-man bobsleigh with three occupants weighs about half a ton. A deadly danger in the ice channel, as evidenced by Michel’s now life-threatening injuries to his chest, pelvis and thigh. A disaster with an announcement. The fear of such an incident has been great for a long time, especially in Altenberg.

Cackett writes: “It was only a matter of time before such a crash occurred at this track, considering how fallen sleds are stopped or not stopped. That has to change.”

Questionable security measures?

The strong criticism is directed against the world association IBSF, but also against the organizers of Altenberg. There were apparently no marshals at the finish line to prevent fallen sleds from sliding back. The already dangerous course was prepared extremely quickly. Even the best pilots in the world such as Vogt and World Cup leader Johannes Lochner (33) fell. One of Lochner’s pushers also gets injured and drops out.

Altenberg route manager Jens Morgenstern did not want to comment on the devastating training day for Blick.

Cackett speaks clearly about this. “There are some safety issues in our sport. We athletes must now forcefully submit this to the IBSF (…). We are organizing a meeting on Friday. This meeting is open to anyone who has ideas for the world association to improve the health and safety of athletes,” writes The Breakman.

He is gaining a lot of popularity online. Record world champion Francesco Friedrich (33) and his star pusher Thorsten Margis also share the post. Simon Friedli (32) of the Swiss pilots does the same. This shows that the stars also support the demand that something must be done now.

Source : Blick