The images of Lindsey Vonn in the snow, screaming in pain and then airlifted off the course after her Olympics crash were a stark reminder of the dangers of downhill skiing. So is this: Her skis didn't come off. Vonn's boots remained locked in her skis even after her pinwheeling fall at the Games, pointing awkwardly in different directions as she slid to a stop in obvious agony. It's impossible to know whether Vonn would have suffered a less serious injury—her complex tibia fracture has already required multiple surgeries—had her skis been released. But the devastating injury has put a spotlight on the importance of bindings, which hold boots to the skis and remain some of the oldest technology in the sport, per the AP.
Officials say that a binding system designed to automatically release skis when a racer like Vonn loses control is still in the drawing-board phase after years of stalled discussions. Bindings haven't significantly changed in their basic design for half a century: Once a skier steps in toe-first and then locks in by stepping down with their heel, pressure needs to be applied for the system to release the boot. Less-skilled skiers have bindings that release more easily to avoid leg injuries; the higher the skill level and the more serious the skiing, the more the bindings are cranked down to keep elite racers on their skis. Few were surprised that Vonn's skis didn't release. The question is whether they should have.
A so-called "smart binding" system based on an algorithm and designed to automatically release when a skier loses control "would have surely" helped prevent Vonn from breaking her leg, says Peter Gerdol, the FIS women's race director at the Olympics and on the World Cup circuit. A smart-binding system could borrow technology from the safety airbag system that became mandatory for skiers this season in speed events. Dainese and sister firm D-Air Lab spent years developing an algorithm for airbags to inflate under skiers' racing suits after creating a similar system for motorcycle racing. In coordination with the FIS, Dainese is sharing the airbag algorithm with top binding suppliers.
However, "it's a very complicated project," says Dainese rep Marco Pastore. "With the bindings, you've got to examine how the feet move, what the trajectory of the skis is, plus a series of other variables." Safety issues became more of a pressing issue recently when Italian skier Matteo Franzoso died following a crash in preseason training in Chile. "Unfortunately, it always takes something serious to happen for people to say, 'No. Now we need to do something,'" Pastore says. More here.
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