Swimmer Victor Davis Remains in Coma

Swimming champion Victor Davis, in a coma after being struck by a car outside a suburban bar, remained in extremely critical condition Sunday in a Montreal hospital.

Doctors are waiting through a critical 48-hour period to determine their next course of action, but already have ruled out neurosurgery, said Jacques Charbonneau, a spokesman for Notre Dame hospital in Montreal.

“When he came in here there was a little hope, but there is very little now,” Charbonneau said. “His chances are slim.”

Davis, a gold and silver medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games and formerly a world record-holder in the 200-meter breaststroke, suffered brain damage, spinal injuries and fractures to the skull, a shoulder and a finger, Charbonneau said. He is on life support systems.

“The doctors said it is only because he was in such excellent physical condition that he has survived this long,” Charbonneau said.

Davis, 25, was hit by a car early Saturday morning outside the Brasserie Belle-Vue in suburban Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue after what his girlfriend, Donna Clavel, said was an altercation with three young men.

According to Clavel, 22, the three men, who reportedly were drinking heavily before the incident, drove straight at Davis and hit him, throwing him head first into a parked car. The men then drove away, she said.

A police statement said no charges were filed against the driver, a 19-year-old man, and the incident is not considered a hit-and-run because he reported immediately to a nearby police station.