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(AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott, File)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- American snowboarder Kevin Pearce was in critical condition at a Utah hospital Friday after suffering a head injury while training in Park City, his publicist said.
Pearce's condition at University of Utah hospital hasn't changed since undergoing surgery Thursday, Danielle Burch said.
Pearce, a top-ranked halfpipe rider with a good chance of making the U.S. Olympic team, was knocked unconscious when he hit his head during a training run on Thursday.
Source: NBC Biography
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The New York Times reports Pearce's parents, Simon and Pia Pearce, flew to Utah late Thursday evening.
The Times quotes U.S. Coach Mike Jankowski as saying Pearce was practicing a double cork -- described as a twisting double back flip -- when he over-rotated, landed on his face and was knocked unconscious. Although he was wearing a helmet he had a large welt above his eye.
Olympic halfpipes are essentially hollowed out ice shells, the sides of which rise up to 22 feet in the air. Riders gain speed as they go from one side to another and fly several feet over the edges, where they flip and spin, often rotating 720 or 1080 degrees on a single jump.
Three weeks ago, Pearce fell during a preliminary run at an Olympic qualifying event in Copper Mountain, Colo., and sustained a concussion.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
