Snowmobiler Caleb Moore dies from injuries sustained during the Winter X Games XVII

Saturday, February 2, 2013

United States of America snowmobile racer Caleb Moore died Thursday morning at age 25 after he had been seriously injured in an accident during the Winter X Games XVII. It was the first fatal injury in the X Games history. The investigation of the accident has started, and the ESPN television channel that organizes the games said it will reassess the security measures during the snowmobile competitions.

Seven days ago in Aspen, Colorado, Moore attempted a backflip with his snowmobile. He lost control of the machine in the landing, crashed and the snowmobile rolled over him. Although he was able to leave the scene on his own feet, he was still transported to a hospital where serious complications emerged, including internal bleeding around his heart and a brain injury. Moore died in a hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado.

ESPN said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened by Caleb Moore's passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to (...) the entire Moore family." According to the statement, Moore was injured attempting a trick he had successfully completed many times before. The organizers promised to make proper changes to ensure the safety in future, but they still admit there will always be a risk in competitions of top athletes.

There has already been critics of the dangerous core of X Games. "As I watched these athletes fly over my head, it really hit home just how miraculous the zero-casualty rate was," sports writer Brent Rose wrote in his commentary to Deadspin just a few hours before the news of Moore's death was published. The X Games are a big and successful business for the ESPN. More than 35 million people in the United States watched the broadcasting this year.

Moore has won four medals in his X Games career since 2010. He had a younger brother, Colten Moore, a fellow snowmobile racer. Colten was injured in the same event in a different accident, but was not seriously injured.

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Sources

Associated Press. "Snowmobiler Caleb Moore dies as a result of Winter X Games crash" — CBC.ca, January 31, 2013
"Snowmobiler Caleb Moore dies a week after crash" — CNN, January 31, 2013
Tom McCarthy. "Caleb Moore's snowmobile death places X Games safety under scrutiny" — guardian.co.uk, January 31, 2013

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