Olympic skier crashes into cameraman (PHOTOS)

Finnish skier Jon Sallinen hit a cameraman, sending him flying onto the snow, during the men’s halfpipe event in Beijing Read Full Article at RT.com

Olympic skier crashes into cameraman (PHOTOS)

Freestyle skier Jon Sallinen collided with a camera operator during Thursday’s halfpipe qualification

Finnish freestyle skier Jon Sallinen stole the show in the men’s halfpipe qualifying competition in Beijing – not because of his insane tricks, but thanks to a dangerous collision with a cameraman whom he hit during his run.

The athlete was halfway through when he lost control on the left lip of the pipe, pushing himself too far off the wall and causing his ski to clip the cameraman, who was standing close to the edge to capture the competition’s best moments.

The Finnish athlete crashed into the operator. knocking the equipment out of his hands.

The bizarre moment was caught on camera and widely shared on social media, making Sallinen the most-mentioned athlete from the halfpipe qualifying event.

© Getty Images / Ian MacNicol
© Getty Images / Ian MacNicol

The Finnish contender came out of the incident unscathed, skiing safely back down the pipe.

The cameraman also avoided serious injury, looking relatively unharmed following the crash.

© Getty Images / Ian MacNicol

Sallinen scored just 18.00 for the run and could not redeem himself during his second attempt, earning a mere 18.50 points.

This saw him finishing last out of 23 contenders and exit the competition, while the best 12 athletes advanced to the final.