Freestyle skiing-American Hamill to return home after injury during slopestyle qualifier

[February 14, 2022] ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) -American Marin Hamill, who crashed and fell after a jump during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifiers on Monday, will return to her home country for further treatment.

Marin Hamill of the United States in action. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Hamill was taken off the course on a stretcher by a medical crew while the competition was briefly paused.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard confirmed the 20-year-old's injury and said Hamill "has a right leg injury and will return to the U.S. for further evaluation and care."

Earlier in the day, fellow American Caroline Claire fell during a practice run on the course and did not compete in the qualifiers.

Skies were clear on Monday after a snowy weekend and temperatures hovered around minus 19 Celsius (minus 2.2 Fahrenheit) but skiers struggled to get to grips with the course following the weekend blizzard that dumped several inches of fresh powder on the course.

Half of the skiers stumbled or missed their landings altogether and crashed in their first run as they grappled with the rail section of the course.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Mari SaitoEditing by Robert Birsel & Shri Navaratnam)

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