- The 17-year-old had come into the games with hopes of finishing in the medals
- Battling a cough, she struggled in training in the run up to the competition
- She botched her first run, somehow ending up straddling a crash barrier
- High school student remained cheerful and managed one successful run
Austrian skier Lara Wolf has made a painful exit from her first Winter Olympics.
The 17-year-old crash out of the slopestyle event in spectacular style, the event in which Britain’s Izzy Atkin won a historic first skiing bronze.
Battling a cough, high-school student Wolf botched her first run spectacularly, impaling herself on the railings in a crash.
Lara Wolf came a cropper in her first run in the slopestyle event at Pyeongchang
The 17-year-old had finished seventh in last year’s World Cup and was hoping to be in the medals
Wolf had an eye-watering encounter with the crash barrier during her run at the Bakwong slope
The skier bounced off the barrier after landing on top of it, then fell backwards
Despite her fall, the skier went home happy, saying she had ‘awesome’ experience and plans to keep competing
Judging from these pictures, her accident looks bad enough for a woman and might have been significantly more painful had she been a man.
Wolf went into the event having finished seventh in last year’s World Cup and was confident of finishing in the medals.
After completing a successful run, she eventually finished 16th in the event, which took place at Bokwang.
Austria’s youngest competitor at the Pyeongchang games nonetheless appeared to remain cheerful despite her undignified exit.
‘I cannot put it in words, it’s just incredible and awesome, you just have to be there, otherwise you’re not a real athlete,’ news.at reported.
‘These were not my last games, I am a full-time athlete, I like that and I want to continue my skiing.’