'Such a brutal sport': Austrian bobsledder stretchered off after frightening crash in four-man heats
A frightening crash at the sliding centre saw a lengthy delay in the four-man bobsleigh heats as Austrian bobsleigh pilot Jakob Mandlbauer was stretchered off the track.
Austria were looking to put a solid run down on the ice in the second heat of the four-man event when their sled, coming in at 118km/h went too high on the wall on curve seven and flipped.
The team's sled could not be stopped after it flipped, sliding further around the course before coming to a halt just shy of the finish line.
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"It is such a brutal sport," former British bobsleigh athlete Mica McNeill.
"Hopefully everyone is OK."
Team Austria crash in the second heat. Getty
Gasps could be heard from the crowd as the sled fired past on its side, with track workers quickly rushing to the edge to assist the team out of the sled.
Three of Austria's athletes were able to get out of the sled without any assistance from track workers, although Mandlbauer stayed put inside the driver's seat.
Helped out by his teammates, Mandlbauer received medical attention on the ice. Meanwhile, track officials were seen fixing the ice where the Austrian sled had crashed.
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With news about the severity of the incident quickly making its way back to the top of the track where the Dutch team stood, it became clear a lengthy delay would occur.
Mandlbauer was later moved onto a stretcher, surrounded by his three teammates, and taken off the ice.
Austria's Jakob Mandlbauer is carried off the ice track by medical staff. dpa/picture alliance via Getty I
It was later confirmed that he was taken to hospital with some neck pain.
As all four athletes did not pass the finish line in the sled, Austria was disqualified.
However, the Austrian team were not the only ones to turn on the ice, with the French team also flipping over at a similar stage on the track.
All four French athletes were able to get out of the sled on their own and flip their sled back, before walking to the bottom of the track.
"When you are at the back of the field, where you not expecting to be and you are pushing to your limits ... it is just unfortunate," McNeill said.
