VIENNA (AP) " Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer is planning to get back on skis next week, seven months after breaking two vertebrae in a World Cup crash. A winner of three World Cup races, Mayer said shortly after the crash he didn't blame the air bag for his injuries and that he planned to wear the protective gear again. The air bag inflates only in the chest, side and shoulder areas. Wearing a protective air bag under his race suit during the Dec. 19 downhill in Val Gardena, Italy, Mayer spun around and flew down the hill backward. The Austrian ski federation said Mayer will return to training on snow at the Moelltaler glacier on Tuesday, adding that a start in the season-opening race in October is improbable.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 13, 2016 09:16 UTC