If you needed a reminder that flying through the air at great speeds was extremely dangerous, Japan’s Yuto Totsuka’s bail in the Olympic snowboarding finals is here to tap you on the shoulder.
The 16-year-old snowboarding prodigy started out well enough but then caught the lip of the halfpipe with his tailbone, compressing his entire body. After landing hard on the edge, he then fell the 20 or so feet down to the middle of the pipe, where Olympic medical staff would quickly get to work stabilizing him.
❗️Wipeout Alert ❗️Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka lands very hard. Hope he is alright #PyeongChang2018 #Olympics #snowboard pic.twitter.com/vZsmwAFgAq
— Reddit Sports (@RedditSports) February 14, 2018
Thankfully, Totsuka was moving (after a scary few moments when he was completely still on the snow), but he had to be stretchered out by the paramedics. It’s terrifying to think that his full weight was coming down ten or twelve feet and he didn’t see it coming, then slid and hit face-first after another fall.
My heart goes out to #YutoTotsuka
Hope he's okay! That looked crazy painful. 😬 🇯🇵#Olympics #MensHalfpipe— Emily Hemenway (@EHemenwayWrites) February 14, 2018
Sending positive vibes to Japan's Yuto Totsuka, that #halfpipe shunt was the worst I've ever seen. The kid is good and young…16. Hope it's not as bad as it looked. 😩 #PyeongChang2018
— #FireCashman #FireBoone (@daknls2006) February 14, 2018
Crowd stunned in silence as Japan's Yuto Totsuka is hurt in the halfpipe, about to be stretchered out. The Oly feed isn't showing anyone any replays.
— John Branch (@JohnBranchNYT) February 14, 2018
That was painful to watch. I feel really bad for Yuto Totsuka. He was doing so good in the halfpipe competition, but he had a nasty fall. Yuto is an incredibly talented young athlete, he made Japan proud. I hope he makes a full recovery. #PyeongChang2018
— Orel Fargas (@OrelFargas) February 14, 2018
Scary crash for JPN’s Yuto Totsuka. Too far out of the pipe high up and hits the lip before falling to the flat bottom. So he fell probably 35ish feet and smacked the pipe in there. He sat up on his own but is coming down in the sled.
— Rachel Axon (@RachelAxon) February 14, 2018
Japan’s Yuto Totsuka hauled away in sled after ugly slam on deck. Looks like he was attempting double 10 or 12. pic.twitter.com/Eaj47HUIi6
— Jason ☀️ Blevins (@jasonblevins) February 14, 2018
Yo that fall was HORRIFIC. Hope he's okay. #OlympicsGames #Snowboarding
— Alana Perrin (@alanathehangry) February 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/MySciFiFantasy/status/963598809887576064
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that these men and women that fly through the air like superheroes are mortal. Shaun White considered retirement after this bail:
.@shaunwhite is going for his third Olympic gold medal tonight, but just a few months ago he had to overcome a horrific fall.
Watch all 8 episodes from "SnowPack" here: https://t.co/Q4puxZy0Ev#PyeongChang2018 #TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/7yP0LQeENK
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 14, 2018
So far, despite thousands of well-wishes online, there have been scant reports on how Totsuka is doing. The NBC Olympics broadcast has remained quiet so far, but hopefully we get an update as soon as possible for the young man, who had bright hopes for his first Winter Olympics.
