Canadian Olympic freeskier Cassie Sharpe had a horrific crash at the Milan Cortina Games on Thursday night and needed to be removed from the halfpipe by sled.
The 33-year-old and two-time Olympic medalist landed awkwardly during qualifying before falling on her left side and sliding face-down along the halfpipe.
Medical staff treated her for several minutes before pulling her away on a stretcher. Sharpe was seen acknowledging the crowd response by raising her arms as she was taken off the halfpipe.
Despite the spill, Sharpe still qualified for Saturday’s final thanks to her first run, which was better than all but two competitors’: Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin and China’s Li Fanghui.
Sharpe, Atkin, China’s Eileen Gu and Fanghui, as well as Kate Gray of the United States are among the 12 finalists. However, it’s unclear if Sharpe will be available for Saturday’s final.
She previously won the gold medal in halfpipe at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games before taking silver in Beijing four years later. The sister of snowboarders Douglas and Darcy Sharpe, Cassie recently had her first child with husband Justin Dorey, a fellow halfpipe skier.
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Canadian Olympic freeskier Cassie Sharpe had a horrific crash at the Milan Cortina Games on Thursday night and needed to be removed from the halfpipe by sled
Medics lift Sharpe onto a stretcher after she crashed during the freestyle skiing halfpipe
Sharpe previously won gold in 2018 and silver four years later. She recently became a mom
Medical staff respond after Canada’s Cassie Sharpe crashed during women’s freestyle