ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Olympic snowboarding champion Iouri Podladtchikov slammed hard into the top edge of the halfpipe at Sunday night’s Winter X Games and was taken off the course on a stretcher.
No immediate update was given on Podladtchikov’s injury, which halted action for more than 10 minutes, as medical personnel stabilized his head and neck.
The snowboarder known as the I-Pod won the Sochi Games on the strength of the Yolo Flip, a 1440-degree trick he patented in the leadup to those Olympics.
The 29-year-old, rounding into form for the Pyeongchang Games after a knee injury, was attempting a 1260-degree jump on his last trick in the halfpipe when he slammed against the lip, snapping his neck backward, as he fell limp to the center of the pipe.