Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Canadian Skier Austin Grimm in Hospital After Dangerous Ski Accident
“The shoot was over and Austin and some of his teammates and friends were headed back to the lodge when there was a crash,” says Freestyle Ski Canada spokesperson Tara Parker.
Parker further confirmed that Grimm suffered a broken jaw, broken collarbone, cracked ribs, a collapsed lung and liver laceration, as well as fractures to one wrist and ankle.
The accident is a tragic finish to what had been a spectacular weekend for Grimm, where he won the World Cup ski cross event hosted at the Holiday River ski resort.
This was Grimm’s second victory on the World Cup circuit this year and fifth top-three finish.
His performance at Holiday River secured him a spot to represent Canada in ski cross during next year’s Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy.
Whether he will be able to compete now is unclear.
“It’s too early to speculate on the future of Austin’s athletic career,” says Canada Ski team doctor, Joseph Wallace. “He has a great medical team looking after him in the US and we look forward to continuing his recovery once he’s back home in Canada.”
No confirmation was given as to the exact circumstances of the accident. The photoshoot occurred on a part of the Holiday River ski area that had been closed for private use, but terrain conditions were deemed to be safe for all skiers.
Excerpt for Fall Line Podcast episode 189 interview, August 29, 2025, between host George McNally and Austin Grimm
McNally: So you’re lying in the snow, broken bones, not sure how long until help arrives. What are you thinking in that moment?
Grimm: To be honest, I don’t really know. That whole day, and even parts of the day before are gone.
McNally: What do you mean “gone”?
Grimm: I mean I don’t remember them.
McNally: Wait, wait. Are we talking about amnesia?
Grimm: Maybe? Something like that. Also, I was on a lot of painkillers that day, so along with the concussion, there was some . . . interference.
McNally: Yeah. Yeah, I get that. It had to be awful, though, right? You nearly died.
Grimm: I don’t know about that. I remember waking up in the hospital and not knowing where I was or how I got there.
For the first few days, I thought the fall had happened during the World Cup race.
It was only after that I understood it had happened the next day.
I have to give big thanks to the Holiday River ski patrol who got me off the snow so fast. And all my doctors and surgeons at the hospital.
McNally: How many surgeries did you have?
Grimm: There’s a screw in my wrist. Plate in my ankle. They had to go in twice because my lung kept collapsing. It was a lot.
McNally: It’s a miracle you’re alive. And yet here you are, five months later.
And you’re talking about competing? Most people might go through something like that and say, “You know what? That’s enough for me.
” No one would blame you if you left the national team and decided you wanted to be a dog walker or something.
Grimm: Well, I do love dogs. But I love skiing more. I don’t know who I’d be if I couldn’t ski anymore. And race. I’ve been working hard with my coaches, physiotherapists, and trainers to get ready for competition.
McNally: For the World Cup? The Olympics?
Grimm: We’ll see. I don’t want to get back on the mountain before my body is ready. I’ve been through a lot in the last five months. I need to know I can take an impact if I fall. That I’m strong enough to be able to keep up with the best in the world.
McNally: And maybe even pass them?
Grimm: That’s the plan, yeah. I want to go out and race the best race I can, but winning is nice sometimes too.
McNally: Winning at the Olympics?
Grimm: Two months ago the doctors weren’t sure I’d be able to do much more than walk without pain, so everything else is a bonus day.
Excerpt from Total Sports Network article, December 11, 2025
Newcomer Harrison Qualifies for Olympics in Ski Cross
In a surprising performance, newcomer Kage Harrison has qualified to represent Canada at the winter games in Milano-Cortina, after finishing second in the 2025/26 Ski Cross World Cup season’s inaugural event at Val Thoreau, France, this weekend.
The twenty-year-old from Calgary had only joined the senior men’s team for last year’s 2024/25 season and is an unexpected qualifier for the upcoming Olympic team.
“I knew I was in good shape before the start of the Big Final,” Harrison said. “I’d been skiing well all weekend. I just had to go out there and keep it up and I knew I had a shot.”
Harrison placed second behind Norwegian skier Anders Flaska.
Canadian three-time ski cross champion Matthieu Girard came fourth in the Big Final, and veteran teammate Andrew Spinner placed sixth in the Small Final.
The other Canadian at the event, Cedric Berard, failed to move out of the preliminary heats and placed thirtieth out of thirty-two competitors.
With only two months left before the start of the Olympics, the Canadian men’s ski cross team is facing uncertainty.
Harrison and Girard have qualified, along with teammate Austin Grimm, who qualified last season.
However, Grimm suffered a serious injury while skiing outside competition and his return to the World Cup circuit and the Olympics this year is in question.
“We’re hoping Austin will be able to join us. He’s making good progress with our trainers and coaches, but we still need the all-clear from team doctors,” says Canadian ski cross head coach Ivan Bondarenko.
If Grimm is able to compete, that leaves one spot on the Canadian Olympic ski cross roster, and only four more events for either Spinner or Berard to accumulate the necessary points to qualify.
Skiing Canada Sports Brief, January 19, 2026
Spinner Punches Olympic Ticket
In a dramatic Big Final at this weekend’s World Cup Ski Cross event at San Mosino, Italy, Canadian ski cross mainstay Andrew Spinner narrowly beat out teammate Cedric Berard to scoop up the final remaining spot on the Canadian ski cross team for the men’s event in Milano-Cortina next month.
Spinner finished second and Berard finished third in Sunday’s final.
Berard only needed to finish in the top three to make the team, but with only one spot left on the roster and Spinner finishing this year’s qualifying period with more World Cup points, Berard finds himself on the outside looking in.
“It’s disappointing,” said Berard after the race, “to work for something and not get it. But Andrew’s an amazing competitor and a great teammate. I’m really happy for him and everyone else. They’ve all worked really hard to get where they are.”
Spinner, set to appear in his second Olympics after missing the 2022 games in Beijing due to injury, echoed Berard’s sentiments.
“We’ve all worked hard this season, and Cedric and I knew that it was make or break going into this weekend. But all you can do is focus on the next turn and the next race.”
The other Canadians at the event included Matthieu Girard, who finished eighth, and Kage Harrison, who came eleventh in quarter-final action.
Fellow teammate Austin Grimm was slated to race, after staging what some are calling a miraculous comeback following a tragic injury last year after the end of the World Cup season.
However, Grimm was a last-minute withdrawal for this weekend’s event.
“My doctors said I’m ready,” Grimm said on Friday. “But we’re being careful. I’ve been doing practice runs and feeling good. I’ll be ready to go by the time we get to Italy.”
World Ski News Article, February 1, 2026
Canadian Ski Cross Team in Turmoil After Drug Test Bomb
The Canadian men’s ski cross team is facing yet another shakeup only days ahead of the start of the Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy.
The composition of the men’s team has been in flux since 23-year-old World Cup winner Austin Grimm experienced a major accident in the off-season.
Although he had already qualified to represent his country in Milan, his spot on the team was in question for most of the last ten months while he worked to come back from several major fractures and more.
Now, although Grimm is being celebrated as a miracle comeback story, it’s his teammate Andrew Spinner who is in the spotlight following a positive drug test result after last weekend’s World Cup race at San Mosino.
“There’s been an error,” says Team Canada ski cross head coach Ivan Bondarenko. “We are confident in our trainers and athletes. Andrew has been very serious about not taking any kind of medication that would jeopardize his qualification at the Olympics.”
Spinner wouldn’t be the first athlete to get caught up in a pre-games drug scandal, even inadvertently.
Past Canadians who were suddenly disqualified from competition over a positive drug test result include ski jumper Naomi Mackenzie-Miller and short track speed skater Olivier LaRochelle.
Both were later reinstated when the results were shown to be a lab error in Mackenzie-Miller’s case and the result of a mislabeled over-the-counter allergy medication LaRochelle had taken before a World Tour event.
With Spinner’s appeal before the Sports Commission but so little time before the Olympics kick off, it’s uncertain if he will be cleared to compete. In the event he is not, Canadian teammate Cedric Berard was able to score enough World Cup Points to compete in ski cross in Spinner’s place.