Sandra Laoura (born 21 July 1980 in

Constantine, Algeria Constantine (), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honour of Emperor Constantine the Great. Located somewh ...

) is a French freestyle skier of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n origin who competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Laoura won bronze in the women's moguls event. On 5 January 2007, during a training session for a World Cup event at

Mont Gabriel Mont may refer to: Places * Mont., an abbreviation for Montana, a U.S. state * Mont, Belgium (disambiguation), several places in Belgium * Mont, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in France * Mont, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in France * Mont, Sa� ...

(

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

), she landed on her head and fractured two thoracic

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

. She underwent surgical intervention aiming to repair the fractured vertebrae, but lost the use of her legs. She traveled to both Portugal and Russia for intensive rehabilitation therapy.

References

1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Constantine, Algeria French female freestyle skiers Algerian emigrants to France Olympic freestyle skiers for France Olympic bronze medalists for France Freestyle skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in freestyle skiing Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics 21st-century French sportswomen {{France-freestyle-skiing-bio-stub