Horrifying moment snowboarder lies motionless after sickening fall during Winter Olympics event
Chinese snowboarder Liu Jiayu was left motionless on the Olympic halfpipe after a horrific face-first fall at the Milano Cortina Olympics in Italy.
Jiayu had just successfully landed a trick when she suddenly lost her balance, sending herself somersaulting down to the icy halfpipe. The 33-year-old ultimately slid to a stop, allowing medics to reach her seemingly unconscious body. She would ultimately be removed on a sled by emergency responders.
Xinhua Sports, a Chinese outlet, is reporting that Liu’s injury is unlikely to be related to her spine. Rather, Xinhua Sports speculated the injury might have resulted from her had hitting the halfpipe.
Liu was in 13th place when she began her and needed to move up one spot to qualify for the finals.
Known in snowboarding parlance as a ‘Scorpion’ fall, Liu’s wreck is a familiar problem within the sport, where riders often crash face first as their legs and board come flying around over their head.
America’s Chloe Kim finished first in qualifying ahead of Thursday night’s final.
China’s Liu Jiayu crashes during the women’s snowboarding halfpipe qualifications
Jiayu Liu of China lies in a stretcher after sustaining an injury during a fall
Liu receives medical attention after falling during her second run of the Women’s Halfpipe
Kim was joined Wednesday by her rumored boyfriend and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett.
Garrett was seen at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday for Super Bowl LX – where the Seattle Seahawks thrashed the New England Patriots.
From there, he made the trek to Italy and the Livigno Snow Park near the Swiss-Italian border to watch Kim throw down in the Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe qualifiers.
It should come as no surprise that Kim, long regarded as the best women’s halfpipe competitor in the world for the past decade, qualified with ease.
The California native threw down the best qualifying run of the day in her first attempt. After opening with a backside 720 and a switch backside method grab, she nailed a 1080, then a frontside 900, and finished it off with a McTwist 540.
The display of technique, style and grace earned Kim a score of a 90.25 – a whole 2.75 points better than her next-closest competitor.
Jiayu Liu (seen here in 2020) was on the cusp of qualifying for the Finals before her fall
Myles Garrett trekked halfway across the world to watch his snowboard star girlfriend, Chloe Kim throw down a pack-leading run in the women’s halfpipe qualifiers at the Winter Olympics
Kim nailed some of her signature tricks to finish with the best score of the day: a 90.25
Kim then celebrated with Garrett, who had recently been spotted at Super Bowl LX in California
With her spot in the final secured, Kim’s second run was only practice to show off what she could do.
She was seen celebrating with Garrett after securing her spot in the final – with the pair smiling next to each other.
Kim is the most decorated women’s halfpipe star in history and is on track to become the second snowboarder in history to earn three gold medals in the same discipline – joining her countryman Shawn White.
She will attempt to secure her third halfpipe gold medal on Thursday at 1:30pm ET (7:30pm in Italy/10:30am PT).
Japan’s Sara Shimizu finished second while another Californian, Maddie Mastro, locked down third place. Bea Kim, another Californian not related to Chloe, finished 10th and reached the final.
