Kildow Out of Hospital, May Race in Downhill

SESTRIERE, Italy, Feb. 14 -- American medal hopeful Lindsey Kildow, who somehow survived a horrific crash without injury on Monday, will remain on the starting list for Wednesday's Olympic downhill race in hopes that her bumps and bruises heal enough for her to ski, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association officials said today.

The decision will be made in the hours leading up to Wednesday's race, which begins at noon here (6 a.m. EST). By keeping Kildow on the starting list, the United States will not be allowed to substitute another skier should she be unable to race.

"Our discussion with her is really: We're at the Olympic Games, and if she's prepared to put down a great run then that's what we'll shoot for," said Jesse Hunt, the alpine director for the USSA. "If not, it makes more sense to get prepared for the upcoming races. I think that's going to be our mindset."

Kildow, who crashed during the second of three scheduled training runs on the Fraiteve Olympique course in nearby San Sicario, spent Monday night in a Turin hospital but was released today. She is headed back to the ski team's base here, where she will continue to be evaluated by team doctors. Despite the horrific nature of the crash, she suffered only bruises to her back and pelvis.

Hunt described Kildow as "pretty banged-up," and added, "The ability for her to be mobile and move comfortably to put down a really good run is really what is in question," Hunt said.

At least one interested observer, however, said Kildow should not race. In an interview from his Minnesota home, Kildow's father, Alan, said he thinks the coaches should hold her daughter out of the event. Lindsey Kildow has severed relations with her father, a former elite skier who got his daughter involved in the sport.

"I could give you a lot of reasons" not to race, Alan Kildow said. "For health reasons, you shouldn't get into the starting gate and reach those kinds of speeds with the pressure of the Olympics unless you're 100 percent. That's number one. To do otherwise, I think, is risking your body when it should not be risked.

"Secondly, the other girls have a significant advantage over her because they had three training runs and she had one-and-a-half. . . . If someone holds her best interest in mind, they would not put her on the start list. But then again, nobody's asking me."

Indeed, Alan Kildow said he would not call the coaches or his daughter and would let the decision be made on site. "I'm nothing but a couch potato sitting in an arm chair second-guessing the coaches," he said.

Before arriving here, Kildow, 21, was considered a favorite for a medal in the downhill. Teammate Julia Mancuso is also skiing well; she was third-fastest in a training run today.

Hunt would not say what Kildow's chances would be of racing at some point during the Olympics. She is a contender for a medal in the combined and the Super-G, a longer version of the giant slalom with more sweeping turns that is most similar to the downhill. Kildow ranks second in the World Cup downhill standings.

The course in San Sestriere sent several skiers tumbling in Monday's training run, including Canada's Allison Forsyth, who tore a knee ligament and is out for the Olympics. Hunt, though, said the course was "excellent," and the condition of the snow, which skiers describe as "catchy" or "grippy," was to blame for the accidents.

"The snow is very grippy on the hill, which makes it easy to catch edges," Hunt said. "That's what Lindsey did when she had her accident. But again, the preparation has been excellent. The course is in great shape. But certainly, the conditions are such that you see more hooked edges."

Hunt said a key in the decision on whether Kildow would race is her mental state. Alan Kildow said he has seen his daughter come back in such a situation in the past.

"She does not have a glass jaw," Alan Kildow said. "She can really take that kind of fall and come back from it, whereas a lot of people wouldn't be able to do that. That's part of the psychological component. But that should not be read to sound like I think she should race. I don't."