Nick Goepper managed to escape serious injury – when during the final jump of what could have been a gold medal-winning run – he suffered a terrifying crash.
Goepper, who sat in bronze medal position at the start of his third and final run, prepared to go big. But in the fifth and final attempt of a trick no freeskier has ever landed in competition in the men’s halfpipe, he landed on the lip and the crowd went silent.
Medics rushed to the scene as Goepper clearly injured his back.
The 31-year-old from southern Indiana was taken to the hospital, where he shared an update.
“I am OK,” Goepper said on Instagram alongside a photo of him sitting in a hospital bed. “Massive shin bang and a tweaked knee but otherwise all good. It’s been a long night in the hospital getting things checked out. Thanks for all the love. Will check back in soon.”
Following the crash, Goepper managed to walk down the rest of the pipe on his own, giving the crowd two thumbs up as they roared and he appeared to joke about his back pain.
Three-time Olympic freestyle skiing medalist Nick Goepper, who retired from the sport after getting arrested and a stint in rehab, is back in a new discipline after rediscovering his joy in the sport and embracing his unfiltered “Ski Unc” persona.
It all came down to the final skier and Goepper, a three-time Olympic medalist who is in his fourth appearance at the Games, was narrowly knocked off the podium, just missing his shot at a medal.
“Wow,” he was heard saying at the bottom of the hill. “Round five in four years.”
Goepper, a 31-year-old from Indiana who went viral for training in jeans at the Winter Olympics, entered the final for the men’s halfpipe event among the top finishers.
His fall came just hours after another horrifying crash from one of the top competitors in the event, 19-year-old Finley Melville Ives out of New Zealand. Ives was going big for his second run in the qualifications when he landed hard and had to be stretchered out of the halfpipe. The harrowing moment halted the competition for several minutes and left Ives’ teammates in tears as they watched on.
Commentators said Ives was conscious and with his family as the event resumed competition.
