The excitement of the inaugural women’s Olympic ski slopestyle final was brought to a devastating halt after Canadian rider Yuki Tsubota suffered a vicious crash in her second and last run on the Rosa Khutor course.
Running fifth after her first run, Tsubota was aiming to climb into medal position when she landed hard on her final jump, went briefly airborne, and came back down again before sliding to a stop.
Replays appeared to show that her head made contact with her knee on first impact, which also caused her to lose a ski and her goggles.
The latter piece of gear could be seen rolling down the slope as course workers quickly rushed to her aid. She was eventually carried off on a gurney.
Early media reports, including those from CBC reporter Carly Agro, Denver Post writer Jason Blevins, and National Post (Canada) writer Bruce Arthur, indicate that Tsubota suffered a jaw injury but will otherwise be okay.
Tsubota’s Canadian teammates, Dara Howell and Kim Lamarre, went on to win gold and bronze in the final. Team USA’s Devin Logan took the silver.
