Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka suffers brutal crash in Olympic halfpipe final
The 16-year-old Japanese snowboarder needed to be carted off the course
Japan's Yuto Totsuka had one of the most brutal misfires of the 2018 Winter Games on Tuesday. The 16-year-old snowboarder was involved in a massive crash during his second run in the gold medal halfpipe event, bouncing off the lip of the frozen pipe before tumbling 22 feet down the ramp to the flat surface below.
— 📼 (@VanHicklestein) February 14, 2018
Terrible crash for Japanese rider, Yuto Totsuka. Hoping the best for him. That snow is not soft whatsoever. pic.twitter.com/dWa4oJae6B
— Dylan Nadwodny (@dnadders) February 14, 2018
After coming to a stop, Totsuka was able to flip himself over onto his back, but he didn't move much after that. Emergency medical personnel came to Totsuka's aid and loaded him onto a cart before taking him off the course.
He was transported to a hospital, but the initial updates provided seemed to suggest that Totsuka may have escaped serious injury.
Japan’s press officer says Yuto Totsuka has “no big injury”but pain in his hip and was transported to the hospital.
— Rachel Axon (@RachelAxon) February 14, 2018
More updates to come.