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Sochi Worker Hit By Bobsled, Stable After Surgery


Workers paint the exterior of the track at the Sanki Sliding Center in preparation for the start of the Sochi Games last week.
Workers paint the exterior of the track at the Sanki Sliding Center in preparation for the start of the Sochi Games last week.
A Russian worker at the Winter Olympics in Sochi is in stable condition after undergoing surgery for two broken legs after being struck by a speeding bobsled.

Officials are still investigating why the man was on the bobsled track and didn't hear the warning signals about the sled approaching.

A forerunning sled -- which is sent down the track to make sure conditions are suitable -- struck the worker near the finish line at the Sanki Sliding Center on February 13.

Sochi: Outside The Arena

Sochi 2014: Outside The Arena

The true cost of Russia's first Olympics in more than three decades, and the most expensive games ever, goes well beyond the hefty $51 billion price tag. Read RFE/RL's Special Report.
One possibility is that the injured worker may not have heard the warning because he was using a motorized air blower.

The Sochi track was designed to be safer following the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumarishtavili at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

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