Olympic Snowboarder Lands 'Gruesomely,' Breaks Neck

Markus Schairer of Austria fell with such force his goggles flew off
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2018 1:20 PM CST
Olympic Snowboarder Lands 'Gruesomely,' Breaks Neck
Markus Schairer, of Austria, top, and Hanno Douschan, of Austria, runs the course during the men's snowboard cross elimination round at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018.   (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Pick the wilder of the two following sentences: Markus Schairer broke his neck during a quarterfinal race in snowboard cross at the Winter Olympics Thursday. The Austrian stood up and finished the race. USA Today reports the accident occurred during the final jump of the course, with Schairer landing "gruesomely" on his upper back with such force that his goggles came off (you can watch the video here).

The Austrian Olympic committee says it believes the 30-year-old, who fractured his fifth cervical vertebrae, will not experience serious long-term damage, though he'll be taken back to Austria hastily. The Washington Post notes Schairer had injured his elbow in a previous run, and had been in 4th place as of the crash. (More 2018 Olympics stories.)

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