Nina O'Brien crash: 'Heartbroken' Mikaela Shiffrin 'crossing her fingers' after friend's horror incident
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Updated 08/02/2022 at 03:08 GMT
“Tonight we’re all just sad and crossing our fingers for the best possible news,” said Mikaela Shiffrin after seeing Nina O’Brien stretchered away after a nasty crash at the Winter Olympics. O’Brien was in the medal mix on the second run and went for broke, with the errors creeping in as she navigated the final sector. Watch every moment of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on discovery+
‘It's gone, it's over! A nightmare!’ – Shiffrin crashes on first run of giant slalom
Mikaela Shiffrin says she is “heartbroken” for American team-mate Nina O’Brien after she suffered a horror crash in the women’s giant slalom at Beijing 2022.
O’Brien was stretchered off the slope after a dramatic collision with the final gate, which sent her tumbling across the finish line. Images suggested that O'Brien may have suffered a terrible injury, although there has been no confirmation as yet from her team.
Shiffrin’s title defence evaporated almost instantly as she crashed out after just five gates in the first run – but her immediate concern was for O’Brien.
“Today was one of the most turbulent days I have ever experienced,” Shiffrin said on social media.
“We’re so heartbroken for Nina O’Brien… she showed so much heart and fire in her skiing today, and it all got shredded to pieces on the final turn. This sport… this sport is so damn hard.
“It’s brutal, and it hurts – far more often that it ever feels good. [Fellow American skier] Paula Moltzan kept saying in the finish – ‘it’s not fair. That can’t have just happened. It’s not fair.’ And she’s right. It’s just so not even close to fair.
“The warrior that she is, she will get back stronger and speedier than ever, with the same upbeat and kind attitude that is trademark Nina. But tonight we’re all just sad and crossing our fingers for the best possible news.”
Shiffrin was the highest profile of a number of athletes who struggled with conditions at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Centre, with 22 of the 82 racers failing to complete the first run. In Shiffrin’s absence, Sweden’s Sara Hector stormed to the title.
“So so so happy for Sara Hector – we’ve all seen her fight for her comeback for years, and to watch her pull everything together this season and manage to keep that momentum going to take gold today was something special. She deserves it so much.
The venue is heavily reliant on artificial snow as Shiffrin admitted that the course punishes the smallest of errors.
"This snow is incredible to ski on. Oh my gosh. It's really nice but if you do any small errors you really cannot get away with that so as you can see I got the worst of it in that turn," said Shiffrin after her run.
"It doesn't happen too often that I fall. I've been really working on the right timing of my turns and I never thought this was going to be part of the issue, but it wasn't because I was holding back so I can be proud of that.
"But it's five turns into the Olympic GS. There is disappointment for sure."
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