Sarah Burke: 4-Time X Games Champion Reportedly in a Coma After Fall

Sarah Burke, the top women's freestyle skier in the world, is reportedly in a coma after being seriously injured while training on Tuesday in Park City, Utah.

According to the Toronto Star, Burke was helicoptered to a hospital in Salt Lake City after suffering a head injury while preparing for the 2012 X Games on the superpipe of Park City Mountain Resort.

Burke reportedly "whiplashed" onto her side after landing a trick on the bottom of the superpipe.

Said Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, via the Star:

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“We’re a bit shell-shocked right now. It’s tough to read. The signs are dramatic and catastrophic, but it’s hard to gauge how dramatic and catastrophic. The same treatment and symptoms can be on a broad scale.”

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The 29-year-old is a four-time X Games champion and has won six gold medals overall during her career.

According to Andy Miller, the resort's communications manager, the halfpipe was the same one that snowboarder Kevin Peirce was critically injured on Dec. 31, 2009. Pearce suffered brain injuries but has since recovered and returned to snowboarding last month.

Burke is considered a pioneer of her sport, competing against men when there were no women's events. Her aggressive style has made her a star and garnered her widespread respect throughout the world. She was scheduled to defend her gold medal at the Winter X Games later this month in Aspen.

Burke's husband, Rory Bushfield, asked via Twitter if there was anyone with a private jet who could fly he and Burke's mother from Vancouver to Salt Lake City.