Swedish snowboardcross athlete Johansson dies after Whiteface spill

Swedish snowboardcross athlete Johansson dies after Whiteface spill{mosimage}WILMINGTON, N.Y. – Swedish snowboarder Jonatan Johansson died Sunday after falling during a snowboardcross run down Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks, according to officials.

The 26-year-old Torino Olympics competitor made a bad landing on one of his jumps at about 9:20 a.m. during training for an International Ski Federation World Cup competition, according to the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association.

“He had a problem on his landing,” said USSA spokesman Tom Kelly.

Details of the crash were not immediately available, but officials said he landed within the course boundaries and was wearing a helmet. The trail where Johannsson crashed, the Boreen Trail, is a green rated trail — or easier — and had special snowboardcross features constructed for competition.

Johansson was on the the section of the trail by himself when he fell.

He was transported to Adirondack Medical Center in neaby Lake Placid, where he was pronounced dead, according to hospital spokeswoman Beth Donahue. An autopsy was to be performed Monday the medical facility’s main center in Saranac Lake.

The Sollentuna, Sweden, resident had been competing at the World Cup level since 2000. Johansson finished 12th in snowboardcross at Torino. He was ranked 45th in the World Cup standings.

Whiteface, down the road from Lake Placid, was a site for the 1980 Winter Olympics and had been hosting the four-day World Cup event.

The rest of the snowboardcross event was canceled.

– The Associated Press