'So scared': Aussie stuck at the top of her run as Chinese snowboarder injured in horrific halfpipe crash

LIVIGNO: Standing at the top of her do-or-die second qualifying run, Australian halfpipe snowboarder Emily Arthur was forced to contend with a horrifying scene below her as China's Liu Jiayu was attended to by medics, then stretchered away, with the competition delayed for 10 minutes while she was treated.

The Chinese athlete had almost completed her second run of the competition but her final trick went horribly wrong, resulting in a sickening crash.

The party atmosphere that is generated by the crowd and the Kiwi MC turned to grim silence as Jiayu was treated and through it all Arthur had to stay ready to start her run when the pipe was cleared.

READ MORE: Smith's 11th-hour call-up after Aussie skipper injured

READ MORE: Ange's successor axed after eight months in Spurs hot-seat

READ MORE: 'Need to see this': NFL legend helps launch Vegas campaign

"It is a lot to handle," Arthur told Australian reporters, including Wide World of Sports, after her run, which also ended in unfortunate circumstances when she crashed attempting a difficult second trick.

"(A break in competition due to a crash) happened to me at World Champs in Georgia and it really rattled me because I was next and I saw what happened.

"I didn't see anything (today) but I heard everyone, then I heard the sled be called."

Arthur's brother, who is also her coach, told her not to watch the scene unfolding in front of her and to try to stay relaxed as she waited to start her run.

The 26-year-old did as she was instructed but admitted afterwards that she and all her fellow competitors were "scared" that something like what happened to Jiayu could happen to them too.

"I am so scared, we all are. We see people get hurt a lot. I knew what I was trying [on the halfpipe] was close enough and safe, so I knew I'd be fine."

According to Arthur, Jiayu was "awake and alert, she knew she was in the halfpipe," after the crash, despite hitting her head on the landing.

Crashes like Jiayu's are a fairly regular occurrence in both training and competition in the world of snowboard halfpipe.

Less than 24 hours out from competition it was revealed that Arthur's teammate Misaki Vaughan had hit her head so hard in a training crash that it cracked her helmet. Vaughan was forced to withdraw due to her concussion.

Watch the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event live & on demand, every medal in 4K, and exclusive international coverage on Stan Sport.

The Australian team on Wednesday gave an update on her condition, saying she was still showing "minor symptoms" and would stay at the athletes' village in Livigno under the care of the Australian team doctors.

The other Australian in the field, Amelie Haskell, also crashed on her second run and was unable to post a big enough score to qualify for the final.

Speaking with reporters afterwards - an interview that was interrupted by Jiayu's horrific crash - Haskell admitted it was tough to prepare for the competition after Vaughan's frightening mishap.

"Misaki's so cool and we have a little girl group," Haskell said.

"We have a little girl group, they call us Oz Gang. We've got Emily and Misaki and I and we all train together, so it's such a bummer not to have all three of us."

"It's a dangerous sport, crazy," she added, "but we make through it."

When her run was finally able to begin, Arthur attempted to go as big as possible and said afterwards that she wanted to be bold rather than going for a safer run that, even if executed cleanly, may not score highly enough to qualify her for the final.

At 26 and competing in her third Olympics, Arthur didn't want to die wondering.

"I knew it was a risk to (do what I did), but I was willing to take that risk. If I landed I would have made finals, but I am glad I went for the risk. I am proud of myself."

Haskell, still just 18, rode with a similar attitude.

"My first run was pretty good. It was sick to land a run," Haskell, who was on debut at the Olympic Games, said afterwards.

"My coach told me to go as big as I could for the second run.

"It is so cool to be here. I am just really hyped to just be here. Rather than [looking at] my result and everything, it is so nice to be with all the girls, competing and training with each other."

After crashing out of both runs, Arthur finished 24th, scoring a 5.75 and a 7.25. Haskell finished 20th after her clean first run scored her 41.75.

At the top of the scoreboard, avoiding the carnage, was American two-time gold medallist Chloe Kim, who nailed a 90.25 with her first run and was able to ease back, having assured herself qualification, on her second.

It was a phenomenal performance considering Kim only returned to the halfpipe two weeks before making the journey to Italy for the Olympic Games, having cut it fine in her recovery from a shoulder injury.

The 25-year-old wore a brace on her left shoulder as she dropped into the pipe.

The 12 qualifiers will return to the Livigno halfpipe on Friday morning (AEDT) for the final.