Olympic skier Aleksandar Aamodt Kilde airlifted to hospital after horror crash in worrying scenes
A Norwegian skier has reportedly suffered “serious injuries” after hitting a safety fence at a downhill event in Switzerland.
Aleksandar Aamodt Kilde, 31, was approaching the end of the course at the World Cup event on Saturday when he crashed and injured his right leg.
EPAAleksander Aamodt Kilde suffered a horrific crash on the slopes in Switzerland[/caption]
APHe collided with a safety fence on the side of the course[/caption]
APKilde was treated for a period of time by the finish line[/caption]
AFPHe was eventually airlifted to hospital on a helicopter[/caption]
According to ESPN, the two-time winner in the downhill discipline was treated for a lengthy period of time on the course.
He was then airlifted to hospital on a helicopter after his leg had been heavily strapped.
Kilde, who won silver and bronze medals in the combined and super-G disciplines at the Tokyo Olympics, is the long-time partner of American skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
It is understood he was suffering with an illness earlier in the week.
But Kilde did place third in a shorter downhill event on Thursday, before he secured the same spot in the super-G on Friday.
On Saturday, the Norwegian lost control during an S-shaped section just over two minutes into the course.
He then made another error when navigating the left-hand turn before the finish as he flew off his skis and crashed backwards into the fence.
Kilde’s collision was the second crash in as many days in Wengen.
On Friday, French star Alexis Pinturault was also airlifted from the slopes after suffering an accident during the super-G event.
At the time of Kilde’s incident, Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt led the downhill event.
Odermatt beat Kilde to gold in the downhill at last year’s world championships as the Norway skier was forced to settle for the silver medal.