Werner Heel: “Safety inspectors would be a solution”

How similar the pictures are. First it caught Hans Grugger during training on the “Streif” last week. On Saturday, South Tyrolean Siegmar Klotz was knocked out in the race; yesterday, Mario Scheiber hit his head hard on the pimple-hard piste in Chamonix after a driving error.

While Klotz and Scheiber got off relatively lightly with broken bones and bruises, Grugger was put into an artificial coma and underwent emergency surgery. The recovery phase was initiated a few days ago. Whether Grugger's health will be damaged will probably only be known once the 29-year-old has woken up from his coma.

No wonder that the topic of safety in alpine skiing is currently being discussed more than ever. Of course also with the South Tyrolean speed aces.

Werner Heel, among others, thinks about security in his job. “But I'm not just thinking about it now, the issue of security is always current for us. I think it's a shame that the public only talks about this topic after such bad falls. We know that we are playing a risky sport. The three falls were clearly due to driving errors on the part of the athletes. Driving errors, which, however, only happened because of the course setting. Therefore, it is difficult to assess who is to blame and why these many accidents have occurred in such a short period of time. What is certain is that it was also a bit of bad luck, because there were much worse falls that actually ended up quite lightly,” said Heel when asked by SportNews.bz .

FIS sensitive When the international ski association is currently asked about the issue of safety, the waves usually run high. The athletes also feel this. “If we say something, speak out about this issue in public, then officials immediately feel attacked. When we talk about safety, it's not about people who work at the FIS, but about the issue of safety. And we all want nothing more than for skiing to become even safer,” said the three-time World Cup winner.

The falls of his fellow downhill skiers would not put a psychological strain on Heel himself. “I have enough experience that I can handle it and even drift and reduce the speed before a dangerous passage,” says Heel.

Security Officer Heel has a few ideas on how to make the sport safer. One of these is hiring safety officers. “These experts could consult with the snow cat drivers on site on the slopes and properly build or defuse jumps. There should be people who deal with these issues all year round and are employed by the FIS,” said the Passeier native, who also sits on the athletes’ commission of the international ski association.

Meanwhile, an outfitter is planning to introduce an airbag system that will protect racers from serious injuries. Both are solutions that could be implemented as early as next season.

For the current World Cup, one can only hope that there will be no further falls with such serious consequences. And that Grugger, Klotz and Scheiber will soon be back in the starting house.

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Werner Heel: “Safety inspectors would be a solution”

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