Olympic medallist withdrawn after crash as Aussie teen Indra Brown moves into top three for delayed final
Updated . First published
Heavy snowfall has forced the postponement of the women's freeski halfpipe final, sidelining 16-year-old Australian sensation Indra Brown for a few more hours.
With snow teeming down in Livigno, officials deemed the course unsafe for the athletes.
The delay means Australian viewers will now be able to watch Brown in the halfpipe during prime time on Sunday (AEDT) — a win for those watching from home.
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Following the withdrawal of Canada's Cassie Sharpe — who failed to receive medical clearance after a heavy crash — Brown moves up from fourth to third on the start list.
Canada's Cassie Sharpe is stretchered from the course after a heavy fall. AP
Dropping in third-to-last gives the Australian a distinct tactical advantage, allowing her to gauge the field and see her main competitors perform before her own run.
Sharpe was stretchered from the halfpipe following a heavy fall during her final qualifying run on Friday morning.
The Canadian was sitting in third place when she misjudged a frontside 1080 tail grab late in her second run; the resulting impact left her motionless on the snow.
There was immediate concern for her welfare as coverage panned away from the two-time Olympic medallist.
A 10-minute delay followed, with Canadian fans and her coach watching on anxiously as medical staff attended to her.
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"A very heavy fall. Unexpected towards the end of the run. Just as things were going so well," Dave Culbert said in commentary for Nine.
She was later seen waving to the crowd as she was stretchered off the course, drawing relieved cheers.
Sharpe's opening run was strong enough to secure third place in qualifying.
Cassie Sharpe before the fall. Nine
Brown secured her spot in the final well before the second qualifying round had even concluded.
"Just lining my second run, the pressure was off. I knew I'd got a score down so I can really increase my amplitude, add a new trick and just see how much I can push it," Brown told Australian media, including Wide World of Sports.
"I'm just going to go out there and try to enjoy myself, not put any pressure or any thoughts of a certain result.
"I want to just go out there, ski in my first Olympic finals at my first Olympics and enjoy it, because it's something that doesn't come very often."
Brown faces a formidable field, including reigning Chinese Olympic champion Eileen Gu and Great Britain's reigning world champion Zoe Atkin.
But if Brown hits her stride and delivers the run we know she has in her, Australia could be looking at another podium finish.
Indra Brown of Australia reacts after qualifying for the free ski halfpipe final. Getty
Gu recovered from an uncharacteristic mistake to secure her spot in the final, keeping the defending champion firmly on track for another podium finish.
After an early scare where she clipped the lip of the pipe and went down, Gu roared back with a near-flawless second run to secure her spot in the final.
"I'm glad I was able to reinforce my sense of self-belief at the moment when it counted," she said, expressing relief.
Gu also shared some encouraging words for the Australian, affectionately dubbing Brown her "little mini-me".
"I know her super well. Her coach, who coaches her now, coached me until I was 15, so I'm very close with her," she told Australian reporters, including Wide World of Sports.
"I think of her as like a little mini me, and I don't know if you guys saw, but when she had her first podium in China, she couldn't get the champagne open, so I helped her open it on the podium, and it was so sweet because the same thing happened when I was her age, 15 on my first World Cup podium, and I couldn't open it and no one helped me, and I wish someone had.
"So it's so wonderful to see the next generation of the sport. I think she's the real deal, so I'm excited to see Jamie's coaching; she looks exactly like me.
"I know how good she is, so I'm not (surprised she's in the mix). You guys will be even more surprised if you were surprised now. I'm not surprised."
Gu secured her spot in the final by qualifying fifth in a field of 21.
Atkin topped the standings, ahead of second-placed Li Fanghui of China.
Catch Brown in the freeski halfpipe final — live on Nine from 8:40pm.
