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An Olympic bronze medalist is suffering from serious injuries after falling during a backcountry snowboarding trip on Saturday.
Mark McMorris sustained a fractured jaw, fractured left arm, ruptured spleen, a stable pelvic fracture, rib fractures and a collapsed left lung, according to Canada Snowboard.
McMorris was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital and underwent a successful surgery to control bleeding from the spleen.
He underwent a second surgery on Sunday evening to repair his jaw and upper arm fractures.
“The surgeries went very well and both fractures are now stabilized to heal in excellent position. It is too early to speculate on a timeline for Mark's recovery.” said Dr. Rodney J. French from the Canadian Snowboard Team.
This injury follows three X Games medals and two Crystal Globes, one for the new Olympic discipline of Big Air and another as the Overall FIS Freestyle World Cup champion for 2016/2017.
Canada Snowboard’s Executive Director, Patrick Jarvis, said McMorris will be prepared for the rehabilitation required to make a comeback to competition leading into PyeongChang 2018.
"We fully support Mark and he is already under the incredible care of the staff of the Vancouver General Hospital.” said Jarvis. "Mark has shown incredible resilience and commitment to recovering from injury and we know that PyeongChang 2018 will be a strong motivation for his comeback.”
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