News broke yesterday that snowboarder Shaun White had pulled out of the Slopestyle competition in Sochi, fearing it was too dangerous and not wanting to jeopardize his status for other competitions. And while that may seem a little “soft” to some, we’re starting to see why the course is making some riders nervous.
The GIF you see above (via r/Olympics) shows Norwegian snowboarder Kjersti Buaas taking a nasty spill on her first qualifying run of the day, a wipeout that landed her with a torn muscle in her abdomen. Buaas called it “the worst slam of my life” and said she also has some severe pain in her stomach and back, but knows it could have been a lot worse.
Pretty clear why Shaun White wants no part of this, huh?
