2 Horrifying Crashes Mar Men’s Ski Halfpipe Event
Two skiers suffered terrifying crashes during the final run of the men’s ski halfpipe event at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Thursday.
Kevin Rolland of France, who won bronze in the same event in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, hit the top of the lip of the halfpipe, causing his legs to split wide as he fell backward to the bottom.
Paramedics rushed to the center of the halfpipe to take Rolland off the course on a stretcher, but the athlete got up and skied down the rest of the pipe on his own.
According to The Guardian’s live blog, Rolland was “making a frightening moaning noise in the middle of the pipe that we can only hope is simply out of frustration and not pain.”
Nasty crash for French skier Kevin Rolland pic.twitter.com/w1oXRpFcI4
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) February 22, 2018
Ugh. This looked just awful. French ski halfpiper @KevinRolland1 landed full force on the lip, crashed hard into the pipe. I don’t know how he didn’t break a leg. Team ran out w stretcher; after a while, he skied away. #Olympics #pyeongchang2018 #halfpipe pic.twitter.com/u4gSPIG43l
— melissa block (@NPRmelissablock) February 22, 2018
Soon after, Torin Yater-Wallace of the U.S., whose path to the Olympic Games has been plagued by injuries, also crashed into the lip of the pipe. The 22-year-old slid down the side of the halfpipe as one of his skis popped off. He lay on the ground for a few moments before getting up, looking somewhat disoriented, and skiing to the bottom of the course.
USA's Torin Yater-Wallace takes a hard fall on his final run. Live ski halfpipe coverage continues on NBC: https://t.co/9qwkA4L0CX #Olympics pic.twitter.com/m1otYmutYY
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) February 22, 2018
And another. @TorinWallace of #USSki catches ski on halfpipe lip. Goes flying down and crashes hard. Slow getting up. Can’t imagine how parents watch their kids do this. #Olympics #pyeongchang2018 #halfpipe pic.twitter.com/dnrIPgrBnV
— melissa block (@NPRmelissablock) February 22, 2018
According to The Associated Press, Yater-Wallace’s path to Pyeongchang has been filled with challenges. In 2015, he spent 10 days in a medically induced paralysis state due to a life-threatening infection.
“There have been broken ribs, moves from house to house in Aspen, Colorado, time the family spent on food stamps, all in the name of advancing a career that Yater-Wallace hoped might end up at the Winter X Games or the Olympics,” AP’s Pat Graham wrote.
It's been a tough road for US freeskier @TorinWallace, from family woes to a terrifyinig medical scare: "I just want people to know there is light at the end of the tunnel." 📝 @pgraham34 #Pyeongchant2018 https://t.co/bI614z5bsY
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) February 22, 2018
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard team tweeted that Wallace was OK after the crash.
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.@TorinWallace goes down hard. He’s OK, but will miss the medals. #teamUSA
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) February 22, 2018
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.