16YearOld Olympic Snowboarder Yuto Totsuka Took a Nasty Fall and Everybody Is Hoping Hes OK
Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka had a scary crash during the 2018 Winter Olympics men's halfpipe snowboarding final on Tuesday, resulting in paramedics bringing the 16-year-old off the course on a stretcher. Japan's Olympic officials said the fall resulted in "no big injury," according to a USA Today reporter. It was originally described by officials as a hip injury. , Totsuka was taken to the hospital after the fall for CAT scans. A representative from Japan's National Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TIME. Totsuka's fall during the second round of three during the men's halfpipe final stunned viewers as he hit the lip of the halfpipe and rolled down it. Television commentators described Totsuka's fall as one of the worst they've ever seen. Olympics fans across the Internet quickly shared similar sentiments, with well-wishers offering the Totsuka sympathy and hopes for a speedy recovery. "Scary scene at the halfpipe. Medics tending to Japan's Yuto Totsuka, who bounded off the lip and fell all the way down the pipe face-first. He was moving, but getting dragged off on a stretcher," the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore wrote on Twitter. A reporter for the New York Times said the crowd was "stunned in silence.", "Really hope the kid is okay. he's just 16 years old and that was one of the worst crashes i've ever seen. really hope for the best for the kid," a Twitter user named Cameron Brady wrote in response to Totsuka's crash. , , , , , Totsuka's teammate Ayumu Hirano went on to win a silver medal in the event. U.S. snowboarder Shaun White beat Hirano's score in his final run to secure his third Olympic gold medal in the event.  With reporting from Sean Gregory in Bongpyeong.