So inevitably, someone was filming the slopestyle practice in Sochi with their mobile phone, and has captured the moment Torstein Horgmo’s Olympic Games came to a premature end. As reported yesterday, it looks like he was attempting a hardway backside 270 onto the first rail but it all goes wrong on the takeoff and he lands heavily at the bottom of the staircase. The accident resulted in a broken collarbone and as you can see for yourself (and the reaction of the onlookers) it was a nasty one.
The course itself still appears to be dividing opinion. Some riders were initially calling for changes and the BBC even reported it had been branded ‘unsafe’, while others – including Billy Morgan and Sage Kotsenburg – have suggested it just needs some minor tweaks before the big day. Judging by this first POV run through the slopestyle set-up which also emerged today, it’s certainly pretty frickin’ gnarly – and we certainly hope no more riders suffer a similar fate to Torstein. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.