American luger Emily Sweeney crashes in final run (Update)
American luger Emily Sweeney crashed her sled in the final run of competition on Tuesday in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Sweeney lost control upon entering the ninth curve — the roughest in the course — swerving back and forth multiple times before being completely thrown from her sled onto the ice.
Horrific crash . Emily Sweeney, USA, on her 4th run at the Luge. Heard she is fine and walking.#WinterOlympics #Pyeongchang2018 pic.twitter.com/nWeaFFavdh
— Patrick Yuen (@PatrickYuen_36) February 13, 2018
She remained on the ice for several minutes while being looked at by medical personnel before she was able to walk off the track and to an ambulance.
Emily Sweeney did flash a smile as she walked along side the track where fans greeted her with cheers. pic.twitter.com/jI5wzL0LNW
— Alex Ptachick (@alexptachick) February 13, 2018
Sweeney, who was taken to a local hospital for an X-ray, told reporters she was “fine.” The Associated Press reported that she suffered no fractures and Sweeney told NBC that she is “very sore.”
“I’m very sore, and pretty stiff,” she said. “I’m going to get an X-ray on my back after this, but I wanted to have the last word. So thanks for all the support, you guys. It’s a bummer, for sure, and I know that I’m better than that. But here we are — it happens.”
Witnessed Emily Sweeney’s crash at luge coming out of curve 9. A curve many sliders warned us about last year. She walked to the ambulance on her own. pic.twitter.com/sz9mdvOoJI
— Sandy Hooper (@SandyHooper) February 13, 2018
The PyeongChang Games were Sweeney’s first appearance in the Olympics.
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