By Philip O’Connor
ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) -Japanese snowboarder Rina Yoshika suffered a heavy fall in training on the slopestyle course at the Genting Snow Park on Thursday and was taken away in an ambulance, a Team Japan spokesperson said.
Yoshika crash-landed from one of the jumps and lay motionless. A medical team rushed to help and she cried out in pain when they tried to move her.
It took almost 20 minutes for Yoshika, wearing training bib number 24, to be moved from the course on a stretcher.
The spokesperson said the need for an ambulance was likely a precaution and did not mean her injuries were serious.
Yoshika, 23, is scheduled to compete in the slopestyle and big air events at the Beijing Games.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor and Mari Saito; Editing by Ken Ferris)
