Irish Olympic snowboarder Seamus O’Connor has warned that the course at Sochi Winter Olympics is unsafe.
O’Connor told The Irish Times that the course at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, “needs some work”.

“We may see some injuries. I hope not, but the whole course is variable as it is.

“The riders need to speak up about the conditions. The rails can’t be fixed but they can fix the jumps,” added the American born 16 year old, who will compete for Ireland in the halfpipe and slopestle events.

O’Connor was not the only competitor to make public complaints about the course. There have been calls from several competitors after Norwegian competitor Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone in an accident on Monday.

“They overbuilt the jumps because they were anticipating that the snow would melt. At the moment the riders are not happy. The rails up top are too close. It’s pretty dangerous at the moment. I think it’s definitely going to be a problem for the women. It’s pretty gnarly for them,” O’Connor said.

Image: Seamus O'Connor, Snowboard Half Pipe & Slopestyle 
©INPHO/Cathal Noonan