BEIJING (AP) — It was a day perhaps more notable for its failures than for its successes.
American Mikaela Shiffrin crashed out a few seconds into her opening race at the Beijing Olympics. Favored to defend her gold medal in the giant slalom, Shiffrin instead lost control and ended with a rare DNF —Did Not Finish.
She wasn’t alone on the third day of official competition.
Monday’s race was delayed for about 15 minutes when Nina O’Brien slid across the finish line, screaming in pain, after her skis crossed in front of her. She was taken away on a sled, and the U.S. ski team later said she has a compound fracture in her leg.
Stars were also taken down in luge, where Julia Taubitz crashed in one of her runs.
The men’s 1,000-meter short track speedskating quarterfinals was also beset by crashes. South Korea’s Park Janghyuk was carted off the ice on a stretcher, although he eventually advanced. Liu Shaolin Sandor of Hungary also crashed in his race and also ended up advancing.
Brendan Corey of Australia, meanwhile, triggered a pileup and was penalized for taking out Dutch skater Itzhak de Laat and China’s eventual gold medalist Ren Ziwei.
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