'52 gold medalist Stein Eriksen hospitalized after skiing accident

Stein Eriksen, a gold medalist in skiing at the 1952 Olympics, broke several bones during a collision with a 9-year-old skier at Deer Valley resort.

Eriksen, 80, required surgery on his wrist and also fractured a collar bone, friend Mark Haroldsen told The Salt Lake Tribune.

He collided with a boy while skiing Sunday at Deer Valley in Park City, where he holds the title of director of skiing.

"He wasn't doing well. He was in and out of consciousness," Haroldsen said.

Eriksen is a patient at University of Utah Hospital, but his family requested that no other information be released, hospital spokesman Phil Sahm said Friday.

Deer Valley did not immediately return a phone message.

The newspaper reported the boy was visiting from out of town, and was taken to an area hospital and treated and released.

Eriksen was injured a day after 350 people celebrated his birthday at a Deer Valley lodge that bears his name. A bronze statue of the skier was unveiled near the entrance.

Eriksen won gold and silver medals at the 1952 Olympics in Norway, his native country. He subsequently moved to the United States.