Doctors in Turin, Italy, probably were as deserving of a medal as any of the 2,500 Olympic participants on Monday.

No less than 11 athletes were injured at the Torino Winter Games as several crashes occurred on the ski slopes and luge track, in the centre of the halfpipe and at a skating rink.

China's Zhang Dan crashed to the ice and slid into the boards after a failed throw quadruple Salchow during the pairs free skate. She and patner Zhang Hao, consulted with paramedics before resuming their routine. The pair received a standing ovation and were awarded the silver medal.

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Figure skaters Phyo Yong Myong and Jong Yong Hyok of North Korea pulled out of the pairs final after Phyo crashed into the boards in practice.

During a women's downhill training run, Canada's Allison Forsyth tore a ligament in her left knee when she lost control of her ski and skidded into the protective fencing.

Forsyth reportedly will return to Calgary on Tuesday for surgery and begin at least six months of rehabilitation.

Forsyth insisted the course in San Sicario, Italy, is safe. Olympic organizers increased the height of several jumps and sharpened corners after some skiers complained it was "boring" following a World Cup event last year.

Defending Olympic champion Carole Montillet-Carles of France suffered rib and back trauma on Monday, while gold-medal favourite Lindsey Kildow of the United States was airlifted to hospital after sustaining a severely bruised hip in a free-fall crash.

Montillet-Carles, 32, was one of the skiers who expressed some concern about the course on Sunday.

In luge, American Samantha Retrosi sustained a concussion and experienced short-term memory loss after slamming into the wall on the second run of the women's singles competition.

The 20-year-old appeared unconscious as she slid underneath her sled through at least two curves. Retrosi was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Turin, where she was expected to spend the night.

Italy's Anastasia Oberstolz-Antonova, Czech slider Marketa Jeriova and medal hopeful Natalia Yakushenko of Ukraine also crashed, while Canada's Alex Gough hurt her ankle during a shaky run in which she nearly came off her sled.

The lightning-fast track in Cesana, Italy, was reconfigured last year for safety reasons. Some of the changes involved raising the ice base between curves 16 and 17, near the site of Retrosi's accident.

Also injured on Monday was Japanese star snowboarder Melo Imai, who was carried away on a stretcher after hurting her lower back during the qualifying rounds.

(Source: Canadian CBC)