Nick Goepper’s brutal crash in the halfpipe final cost him a podium spot on Friday, February 21.
The 35-year-old American skier was in the bronze medal position as he began his final race in the men’s halfpipe freestyle skiing at Livigno Snowpark in Milan.
Goepper landed everything perfectly until his fifth and final jump, when he didn’t get enough height on his jump and crashed into the edge of the halfpipe.
Following the brutal crash, Goepper provides an injury update to his fans through a post on his Instagram handle.
He wrote: “I’m fine.” Goepper said alongside a snap of him sitting in a hospital bed.
Goepper, while giving an update on the injury, added: “Massive skin break and a tweaked knee, but otherwise all good. It’s been a long night in the hospital getting things checked out.
Applauding his fans’ support, he concluded: “Thanks for all the love. Will be back soon.”
After the crash, Goepper walked down the rest of the tube on his own, waving to the crowd with two thumbs up as they roared, and he appeared to be laughing at his back pain.
The pressure came down to the last skier and Goepper, a three-time Olympic medalist who is in his fourth appearance at the Winter Games, was nearly crashed off the podium as he saw his chance for a medal slip away.
Goepper, a 31-year-old from Indiana who made waves for wearing jeans to the training session at the Winter Olympics, qualified for the men’s halfpipe final among the best.
Goepper and Ferreira have been roommates for the past week.
Alex Ferriera, who emerged gold medalist in the men’s free skiing, commented on his teammate.
Ferreira said: “Nick has big balls.”
“Nick is a fierce competitor. He’s a great teammate. I really thought he was going to land that race. It was super surprising to me that he didn’t,” continued Ferreira.
“But he went for it. And in the end he told me, ‘I have no regrets.’
For the uninitiated, Nick Goepper is from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, a small town near Cincinnati that borders Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
He has previously won eight X Games medals and secured second place in the superpipe in Aspen leading up to these Olympics.
