The reigning world champion had to be stretchered off the mountain and was taken for medical checks.
“He took a big hit, didn’t he? We all saw that,” coach Tom Willmott said.
“Our team doctor’s with him, his mum’s with him, and he’s doing okay. He was knocked out, but he’s conscious right now, he’s talking and he’s doing okay. He’s getting full checks, scans, X-rays, all the rest of it, just to fully rule anything out.”
It was a tough moment to watch, and one that would have been harrowing for the rest of the skiers in the field – particularly as Melville Ives was at the start of the run sheet.
Fellow Kiwi Ben Harrington dedicated his second qualifying run to his injured teammate, after doing enough to secure the last of the 12 qualifying positions.
“Hey Finski, this one’s for you, brother. Love you, let’s go skiing,” Harrington said to the cameras.
In the final, Harrington was one of a few athletes to complete their run, with the majority of the field unable to land tricks cleanly.
With a 61.25 first run, Harrington was second once all the athletes had taken to the halfpipe for the first time.
That score seemed unlikely to hold for a podium place, and that proved the case as some big scores started to drop in the second round.
American Alex Ferreira won gold with a score of 93.75 – his second score in the 90-point range of the final – with Estonia’s Henry Sildaru (93.00) and Canadian Brendan Mackay (91.00) rounding out the podium.
Harrington improved his score on his third run, with his best effort of 73.75 good enough for ninth place.
Fellow Kiwis Gustav Legnavsky and Luke Harrold failed to qualify for the final, finishing 14th and 15th respectively.
All the action from the men’s freeski halfpipe final
