Grippy - not that way

Doctors in Turin, Italy, probably were as deserving of a medal as any of the 2,500 Olympic participants on Monday. No less than 11 athletes were injured at the Torino Winter Games as several crashes occurred on the ski slopes and luge track, in the centre of the halfpipe and at a skating rink. During a women's downhill training run, Canada's Allison Forsyth tore a ligament in her left knee when she lost control of her ski and skidded into the protective fencing.

Forsyth insisted the course in San Sicario, Italy, is safe. Olympic organizers increased the height of several jumps and sharpened corners after some skiers complained it was "boring" following a World Cup event last year."I think it was a very difficult course as far as the conditions of the snow, and the conditions of the snow isn't anybody's fault but nature," Forsyth said. Kerrin Lee-Gartner of CBC Sports attributed Monday's problems to the course conditions, saying it was icy and grippy in spots. Austrian skier Michaela Dorfmeister, the harshest critic of the course last year, told CBC Sports that some turns are very icy and bumpy, but added "it's a very nice downhill."