Matthias Lanzinger (born 9 December 1980) is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n retired

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

from

Abtenau Abtenau (Central Bavarian: ''Obtenau'') is a market town in the Hallein District of Salzburg in Austria. The municipality is located in Lammertal, Tennengau, about south of Salzburg and encompasses the entire middle valley of the Lammer. Geo ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. In 2000 he was the Junior World Champion, and took the overall Europa Cup title in 2004. He finished third in the

Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

at Beaver Creek on 1 December 2005. This was his only podium in the

. Following his accident and leg amputation, he became a

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

Leg amputation after fall

On Sunday 2 March 2008, during a World Cup Super-G run at

Kvitfjell Kvitfjell () is a ski resort in Norway, located in the municipality of Ringebu. Developed for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, it is one of the most modern resorts in the world, with snowmaking on 80% of the alpine pistes. Based near ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Lanzinger crashed into a gate, tumbling down the steep slope. A contributing factor to the severity of the injury was the fact that the release mechanism on one of his

ski bindings A ski binding is a device that connects a ski boot to the ski. Before the 1933 invention of ski lifts, skiers went uphill and down and cross-country on the same gear. As ski lifts became more prevalent, skis—and their bindings—became increasi ...

did not trigger immediately. The reason therefore was that his leg, already broken, did not provide the resistance needed to open the mechanism. He sustained an

open fracture An open fracture, also called a compound fracture, is a type of bone fracture (broken bone) that has an open wound in the skin near the fractured bone. The skin wound is usually caused by the bone breaking through the surface of the skin. An open fr ...

of one leg. He was first transported off the slope using a sled, then flown using a private helicopter (quickly refitted to allow his transport) first to Lillehammer hospital where surgery was performed, then on to

Ullevål University Hospital Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of F ...

in Oslo by

ambulance helicopter Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...

for a new surgery due to problems with the blood circulation in the leg. On Tuesday morning, after the third surgery, the second one for restoring

blood circulation In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart an ...

to his left leg, the doctors announced that it would have to be

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is ...

below the knee. After surgery by Dr. Thomas Hölzenbein, his condition was described as "stable", and it was affirmed that Lanzinger "could have died" without the amputation because the leg was virtually dead below the knee. The treatment of Lanzinger's injury during the first hours has been criticized, and some comments have held that a better attention to the blood circulation in an early time could have saved Lanzinger's leg. The security of the slope in Kvitfjell has also been criticized. The Austrian ski federation has stated that they will continue to support Lanzinger both personally and publicly. In 2010, the Norwegian patient advocacy found that Lanzinger had not received adequate treatment for his injuries, and was entitled to monetary compensation from

Paralympian

Upon leaving hospital after his amputation, Lanzinger initially intended to put an end to his skiing career, and studied marketing. He subsequently resumed training, however, with his coach Manuel Hujara, within the field of

disabled sports Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing non-disabled sports, while others have been specifically created f ...

. He qualified as part of Austria's delegation to the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Par ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, to compete in Alpine skiing (in the standing category). He took two silver medals at the Games in the

super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

and the Combined. Lanzinger announced his retirement during the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, where he took silver medals in the downhill and super-G and bronzes in the giant slalom and Super Combined.

Personal life

Lanzinger has been with his wife, Eva, since 1999. They have two children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanzinger, Matthias Austrian male alpine skiers Living people 1980 births Skiers from Salzburg Austrian amputees Sportspeople with limb difference Medalists at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Alpine skiers at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Paralympic alpine skiers for Austria Paralympic silver medalists for Austria Austrian disabled sportspeople Paralympic medalists in alpine skiing