The accident occurred near the finish in the braking area, but officials hadn't released any details of how it occurred or the worker's identity.
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia -- A fore-runner struck a track worker just before the start of men's two-man bobsled training Thursday at Sanki Sliding Center.
Fore-runners slide down the track before training or competition begins.
The accident occurred near the finish in the braking area, but officials hadn't released any details of how it occurred or the worker's identity. The first heats of women's skeleton ended about 90 minutes prior to the accident.
The worker was taken away in an ambulance.
"The worker is undergoing surgery for two open fractures in his legs," said IOC President Thomas Bach, who added that the worker was conscious when he arrived at the hospital.
Bach said it was not yet clear why the worker was in the braking zone.
"We're pretty relieved," Bach said. "There is no danger for life."
Accidents involving pedestrians on a bobsled track are not common but not unheard of either. In October of 2005, American skeleton racer Noelle Pikus-Pace was standing at the very end of the track in Calgary when an out-of-control bobsled barreled into her. Pikus-Pace, who is in second place midway through the skeleton competition here, sustained a broken right leg and the accident derailed her chance to make the 2006 Torino Olympics.
During breaks in training and competition, a track announcer normally says, "Sled on the tracks," to alert everyone that a sled will be descending.
The start of training for two-man bobsled was delayed.