Olympic snowboarder breaks his neck after scary fall
A bad day at the Olympics got even worse Thursday for Austrian snowboarder Markus Schairer.
After crashing and injuring his elbow earlier in the day, Schairer, 30, broke a vertebra in his neck in a horrific crash during the quarterfinals of the men’s snowboard cross.
Austrian Markus Schairer breaks neck during snowboardcross event in horrifying crash at @pyeongchang2018 https://t.co/NFbg5OFyEW pic.twitter.com/qB3Ads3LzJ
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) February 15, 2018
Schairer, competing in his third Olympics, got his board too far under him as he came off the second-to-last jump of the run, and he slammed back-first into the slope.
Upon impact, his head snapped back violently and struck the snow as well.
He hit with such force that his goggles flew off.
Böser Sturz von Markus #Schairer im #Snowboard Boardercross. Halswirbelbruch, aber Ärzte befürchten keine Folgeschäden #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/iaptkStpYW
— Lukas Zahrer (@ZahrerLukas) February 15, 2018
He was immediately attended to by medical personnel.
Despite the powerful impact of the crash, Schairer was able to get back on his feet — unassisted — after a few minutes and even managed to cross the finish line.
https://twitter.com/newsaloo/status/964202973583863808
Schairer was eventually taken to a hospital, where doctors determined he broke the fifth cervical vertebra in his neck.
However, according to a statement from the Austrian Olympic Committee, there are no signs of neurological impairment or long-term damage.
Schairer will be transported by medical personnel back to Austria as soon as possible, the statement said.
Schairer has suffered a number of injuries during his career.
In 2008, he ruptured the cruciate ligament in his knee. In 2010, he broke five ribs while competing in the Winter X Games. And in 2013, he tore four ligaments and fractured a joint while training.
It was the second scary crash suffered on the slopes by an Austrian athlete.
On Tuesday, Matthias Mayer crashed during the slalom portion of the men’s alpine combined event.
Look out! Austrian skier Matthias Mayer lost his edge and went careening down the course, slamming into course workers. https://t.co/0PtHMacw8d #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/sFxOkVn8kV
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) February 13, 2018
The crash sent Mayer sliding down the hill, and he eventually crashed into a cameraman. Both Mayer and the camera operator were OK.
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