A US Olympic skier charged up the halfpipe to check on his teammate after he suffered a brutal crash during his run.
The halfpipe events at the Winter Olympics make for some of the most dynamic and entertaining viewing during the games; competitors fly up to six feet in the air, spinning, flipping and all sorts.
However, much like the UK has been battling Storm Eunice, with church spires toppling and London's O2 Arena ripped to shreds, athletes in Beijing have been forced to contend with brutal winds as they embark down the slopes.
Team USA's David Wise managed to complete his run without any issues at all, reaching the bottom of the halfpipe and bursting with relief. The same can't be said of others during the event: on his first trick attempt, the wind saw Team GB's Gus Kenworthy to drift slightly in the air, causing him to land right on the ridge of the halfpipe and nearly crumpling his back. Incredibly, he got up and finished the run.
Wise's teammate Aaron Blunck, who came into the event as the lead qualifier, suffered a similar fate, with his head and shoulder crashing into the wall of the halfpipe. As he received medical attention, Wise ran back up the halfpipe to check on him.
While the total extent of any injuries are currently unclear, he managed to get back up and make his way down the halfpipe, and was even heard joking about the fall shortly afterwards.
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'That halfpipe final… brutal to watch the wind decide it. And to see David Wise running up the pipe to check on a teammate. Amazed no one had to leave on a stretcher,' one viewer wrote on Twitter. '
The wind is so hard, I can't imagine having to fly around in the air with the wind like that. It's messing up so many runs... David Wise running up the pipe to check on Aaron Blunck after his fall.. my heart. I'm glad he's ok,' another tweeted.
Blunck suffered a number of injuries in a particularly gnarly crash in 2020, lacerating a kidney, breaking ribs and fracturing his pelvis. 'I had grabbed [US coach Mike Riddle’s] hand, and I was just like... do not let me die. Do not let me die. But if I do die, tell everyone that I love skiing, I love my fiancée, and I love my family and friends. Tell them that,' he recounted, as per NBC Sport.
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Cameron Frew