Skier smashes into cameraman after botched trick goes horribly wrong at Winter Olympics

dailystar.co.uk:

Winter Olympics.Finland's Jon Sallinen lost control when going backwards up the halfpipe in his first qualifying run in Beijing.The 21-year-old flew off the course and straight into the unfortunate cameraman, who was positioned on the sidelines to capture what should have been a jump.The camera took the brunt of the impact from the skis, while its holder managed to stay on his feet by grabbing onto the nearby guardrail.However, Sallinen was left in a heap on the ground and thought he had broken his collarbone.He said he "felt some movement and heard some cracking" but got back up to finish the run regardless."I maybe got a little cushion from the camera guy.

I hope the cameraman is all good because I landed directly on him," the Finn added.Explaining the incident, Eurosport commentator James Webb said: "He pushed so far off that first wall.

It seems his weight was too far forward and he couldn’t regain it."What's been your highlight of the Games so far? Let us know in the comments section.Richard Cobbing, who represented Great Britain at the 1994 Games, added: "Catches an edge, bang.

Sallinen’s taken a good body slam on the top of the pipe, that will have hurt."After scoring just 18.00 for that initial attempt, Sallinen thought about pulling out of the competition before deciding to carry on.He might as well have not, though, because he fell again on his second run and registered just 18.50.The first-time Olympian subsequently finished last in the 23-man field for qualifying, with the top 12 progressing to the final.Sallinen wasn't the only skier to crash, though.New Zealand's Ben Harrington landed hard on the edge of the half-pipe with his back taking a painful hit.Thankfully, after a few minutes on the ground he got.