Halfpipe falls are always impressive, but they rarely involve two people. This Thursday, Jon Sallinen therefore offered, against his will, an unprecedented spectacle to viewers. While he was well into his first qualifying run, the Finn hit a cameraman, giving himself a big fright.
Camera on the shoulder, the latter was posted at the top of the pipe to take the best possible images, as close as possible to the freestylers. But he surely misjudged the places where Sallinen was going to fly into the air: after four very committed and perfectly successful figures, the young skier deviated slightly from his trajectory and arrived like a cannonball on the cameraman. Luckily for both men, his skis only hit the camera, allowing them to walk away uninjured.
The misadventure still cost Sallinen dearly, who was taking part in his first Games at the age of 21. Inevitably credited with a low score (18.00) on this first interrupted run, he did not really do better on the second (18.50), which forced him to settle for a 23rd and last place in qualifying. He will not play in the Olympic final on Saturday, unlike French flag bearer Kevin Rolland, who took 10th place.