Kuusamo, Finland – Inge Braten, the Canadian World Cup coach, fell and broke his hip today in Finland. Braten, a native of Norway, slipped outside his apartment near the ski stadium.
“I was busy on the phone, and suddenly my legs were gone and I could not catch myself . The first thing that I thought was that this I don’t have time for this,” said Braten.
He required surgery and was operated on in Oulu University hospital, 3 hours from Kuusamo, and is expected to be in hospital for up to a week. Recovery can be expected to take up to 6 weeks.
Braten did not seem optimistic, telling reporters, “I fear that my career as head coach of Canada ended here.”
Braten also coached the Norwegian National Team during the 1994 Olympics in Lillehamar, and Sweden in 2006. He was brought on just this year to lead the Canadian team at the Vancouver Games.
![Inge Braten](http://images.fasterskier.com/2009/11/4657718_252507.jpg" "Inge Braten")
One comment
Martin Hall
November 26, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Inge—I know the feeling–the same thing happened to me 2 years ago, just about the same time of the year at Silver Star. We’re both good on snow and bad on ice. About 2 seconds after I hit the ground I knew it was broken. I got some help in that I had a hip replacement done on the same hip about 9 years ago. Be care getting around once you get mobile—this is not the best time of the year to be on crutches. Heard the news from Dave Wood as he was stuck in the airport in Toronto—not a very good day for him either, with your accident and getting a fly back to Toronto after being 1 hour into his trip to Europe to be with you guys.
All the best in your recovery,
Marty Hall