Chinese snowboarder Liu Jiayu suffered a nasty fall at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday. Photo: CCTV News // X
Chinese snowboarder Liu Jiayu was rushed to the hospital after a brutal fall at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Though the dramatic crash had fans on edge, the athlete has since reported she suffered no major injuries.
The 33-year-old was making her second run of qualifying in the women’s halfpipe on Wednesday when the accident occurred. As the Associated Press reports, she was landing her final trick, a frontside 900, when the toe edge of her snowboard caught in the snow, sending her face first into the bottom of the halfpipe.
The action was halted for 10 minutes as medical staff tended to her, then removed Jiauyu from the course on a stretcher. Though she was treated for head injury, medical staff ultimately found no spinal abnormalities, according to state news service Xinhua.
“I just finished a check-up at the hospital and there’s nothing seriously wrong. Everything is fine,” Liu confirmed on social media, as the South China Morning Post reports.
This is not the first heavy crash to befall a snowboarder at this year’s games. Though Jiayu came out of her ordeal relatively unscathed, Australia’s Cam Bolton was not so lucky. The 35-year-old snowboard cross specialist crashed on Monday and walked away without realizing the severity of his injuries. The following morning, though, he woke up with worsening pain in his neck, which prompted a trip to the medic and a diagnosis of a broken neck.
Chinese snowboarder and five-time Olympian Liu Jiayu suffered a heavy fall during the second run of qualifying in the women’s halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday, losing control at her final takeoff and crashing headfirst into the pipe, Xinhua News Agency… pic.twitter.com/U0YyYlSZ8R
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 12, 2026
