Alpine Canada releases statement on downhill skier who was injured during Birds of Prey training run in Beaver Creek

Alpine Canada released a statement last Friday regarding national ski team member Broderick Thompson, who sustained head injuries during a training run crash at the Birds of Prey World Cup in Beaver Creek on Nov. 29.

“Broderick was airlifted to Denver Health Centre where he is receiving the best possible care. He is alert and his condition is stable, and he is showing steady improvement,” the statement read.

Fellow Canadian skier Britt Richardson said she’d spoken with the two-time Olympian since the injury.

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“Obviously we’re all really sad that he got injured there, but I hear he’s stable and he’s doing better and he’s been improving the past couple of days,” she told CBC Canada.

“We hope to see that trend continue and yeah, we’re just sending him all positive vibes and love to him.”

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Thompson’s accident occurred near the Golden Eagle Jump according to SnowBrains.com. “Doctors were suspecting a blood clot on the brain and were expecting the worst for a few hours,” Julia Schneemann reported. “Thankfully, on Thursday, November 30, in the afternoon, the all-clear came from the hospital in Denver: Broderick is conscious again and is responsive.” 

World Champion Aksel Lund Svindal also landed badly after the Golden Eagle Jump in a training run in November 2007. After somersaulting into a safety fence, he suffered broken bones in his face and a six-inch laceration to his left buttock muscle.

Thompson wasn’t the only athlete injured during training on Nov. 29. American athlete Erik Arvidsson tore his ACL and LCL in a crash that day as well.

“Heartbroken to have torn my ACL and LCL on the last training day before the start of the World Cup season,” Arvidsson stated on Instagram last week.

“Thanks so much to all the @usskiteam doctors, physios, coaches, athletes, and support staff who have helped me start to get things organized for the long road back. As @akilde told me yesterday I am not the first and I won’t be the last. I’ll be back soon.”

For the first time in the event’s history, all three Birds of Prey races were canceled because of weather. Thompson, a national team athlete since 2015, placed third at the super-G in Beaver Creek in 2021 — his only World Cup podium. He is the younger brother of Olympic ski cross champion Marielle Thompson.

“The speed boys are just so hardcore and it happens so much, it’s hard for us to watch,” said Sarah Bennett, a Canadian teammate who was competing in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, over the Birds of Prey weekend.

“Especially for their parents, I feel for them to have to hear news like that. To know that he’s in recovery and he’s doing way better is really good to hear.”