Winter Olympics 2022 - Finnish skier Jon Sallinen crashes into cameraman during halfpipe in Beijing

Updated 17/02/2022 at 09:38 GMT

Finn Jon Sallinen pushed too far off the wall during qualification for freestyle skiing’s halfpipe competition, smashing into a cameraman and knocking the equipment out of his hands. Eurosport commentators described it as a “very graphic representation of the dangers involved in freestyle sports” - but the error appeared to be Sallinen’s. Watch every moment of the Games on discovery+.

‘Oh my god! There could be injuries’ - Sallinen smashes into cameraperson during halfpipe

“A very graphic representation of the dangers involved in freestyle sports” said Eurosport commentators, after a Finnish skier crashed into a cameraman during his run in halfpipe qualifying at the Winter Olympics.

Jon Sallinen caused the embarrassing moment when he appeared to be pushing too far off the wall and almost collided with another cameraman, before he performed a trick and took out another straight after.

Sallinen’s ski collided with the camera operator, who like all of his peers was standing close to the edge of the halfpipe to capture the best moments, sending his equipment crashing to the ground.

Beijing 2022

‘Drama! Drama! Drama!’ – Re-live Gu’s remarkable Olympic Games

00:02:34

23/02/2022 at 15:00

Both Jon Sallinen and the cameraman avoided any serious injuries during a collision in halfpipe qualification

Image credit: Getty Images

“He pushed so far off that first wall,” said James Webb in the Eurosport commentary box, ”it seems his weight was too far forward and he couldn’t regain it”.

“Catches an edge, bang! Sallinen’s taken a good body slam on the top of the pipe, that will have hurt” added Richard Cobbing, who represented Great Britain at the 1994 Games.

Sallinen skied back down the pipe into the finish looking relatively unharmed - and footage from the incident survived. The cameraman doubled over the edge to receive some support from a colleague, but looked to be back on his feet too and crucially, the footage survived.

- - -

Watch every moment of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on discovery+

Beijing 2022