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US skier Nina O’Brien stretchered away after horror crash seconds before finishing at Olympics

Nina O’Brien was stretchered off the slope after a dramatic collision during women’s giant slalom race, she is “alert and responsive” says the US Ski team

In a horrific crash during the ongoing Winter Olympics, US skier Nina O’Brien collided with the penultimate gate seconds before reaching the finish line on February 7. O’Brien’s leg looked visibly twisted around 90 degrees in a nasty crash very close to the finish line. The World Cup alpine ski racer was immediately attended by at least four medics and the race was temporarily halted before Nina had to be stretchered off for further medical assistance.
 
“Tonight we’re all just sad and crossing our fingers for the best possible news,” said Mikaela Shiffrin after seeing her teammate O’Brien being stretchered away after the crash at the Beijing Winter Olympics. However, the US Ski & Snowboard Team later confirmed Nina’s medical status in a tweet that read "Nina O’Brien crashed into the finish but she is alert and responsive." She was “calm,” “worried about delaying the race,” and “wanted to know how fast she was skiing.”

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“We’re so heartbroken for Nina O’Brien… she showed so much heart and fire in her skiing today, and it all got shredded to pieces on the final turn. This sport… this sport is so damn hard.” Shiffrin said on social media. “It’s brutal, and it hurts far more often than it ever feels good. [Fellow American skier] Paula Moltzan kept saying in the finish – ‘it’s not fair. That can’t have just happened. It’s not fair.”

After clipping one of the final two gates, she lost her balance. The skis split, her right knee bent at an awkward angle, and she tumbled toward and over the finish line as her skis and poles also went flying. The viewers of the women’s giant slalom race were stunned at the sight of the brutal crash and took to the Internet to send their good wishes to O’Brien. One Twitter user wrote, "Hope she makes a full recovery #bionicwomen". Another said, “Sending healing thoughts and prayers to Nina."

Who is Nina O’Brien?

Nina O’Brien is a 24-year old American World Cup alpine ski racer and an Economics major at Dartmouth. Nina wowed the crowd as a 17-year-old National Training Group athlete in 2015, when she snagged the national title in giant slalom at US Alpine Championships in Sugarloaf, Maine. She made her World Cup debut in the year 2016 at the age of 18. So far O’Brien has won seven national titles including - super-g, slalom, alpine combined, parallel slalom (Waterville Valley, N.H., 2019), slalom, super-G (2018), and giant slalom (2015) and was all set to win women’s giant slalom race at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 before the tragic crash.