(CNN) -- Kevin Pearce One of the country's top snowboarders, who was considered a favorite to make the U.S. Olympic team, was in critical but stable condition Sunday after an accident while training last week at Park City, Utah. The Los Angeles Times reports that the 22-year-old from Norwich, Vermont, was wearing a helmet while attempting a twisting double back flip on an icy halfpipe. Pearce hit his head, was knocked unconscious and was then airlifted to the University of Utah hospital for surgery. He sustained severe traumatic brain injury, one of his doctors said in a statement. Pearce, a beloved athlete, was one of the few snowboarders who experts thought could challenge top contender Shaun White, who has won almost every top snowboarding medal.
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Top U.S. snowboarder injured during training
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World's tallest tower opens in Dubai
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Fourth-largest U.S. city swears in its first openly gay mayor
Six years in the making, the Burj Dubai reaches 818 meters, or half a mile, into the sky above @placeholder, with dizzying views of the ambitious building program that has transformed the emirate and left it swamped by debt.