Sarah Burke dead at 29

SARAH BURKE, the pioneering Canadian freestyle skier who helped get superpipe accepted into the Olympics, died yesterday after a Jan. 10 crash during a training run in Park City, Utah.

Burke, who lived near Whistler, in British Columbia, was 29. In 2010, she married another freestyle skier, Rory Bushfield.

Tests revealed she sustained "irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest," according to a statement released by her publicist, Nicole Wool, on behalf of the family. She said Burke's organs and tissues were donated, as the skier had requested before the accident.

In other skiing news:

 * Olympic champion Hannah Kearney won a record 11th consecutive FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls event in Wilmington, N.Y.

* Swiss ski star Didier Cuche, 37, announced he will retire after the season despite being in contention for a record-equaling fifth World Cup downhill title.

* A high-tech air bag meant to improve safety in ski racing was presented by the International Ski Federation and the manufacturer in Austria. The D-air system inflates air bags under the race suit.

FIFA's secretary general Jerome Valcke again blasted Brazil for being behind schedule in its stadium preparations for the 2014 World Cup. He added that beer must be allowed at matches, despite Brazilian law prohibiting beer sales at games.

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he will reconsider the ban on beer at sports stadiums, as the country prepares to host the World Cup in 2018.

Wings forward Kevin Crowley was named Rookie of the Week by the National Lacrosse League.

David Toms and Camilo Villegas shot 63 to share the lead after the opening round of the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, Calif.

* The Canadian government will spend $1.5 million to help reduce concussions in youth sports.

* Olympic triple-jump champion Nelson Evora, of Portugal, fractured a shinbone for the second time in 2 years and won't defend his title in London.