Tahoe Skier Suffers Broken Leg in Scary Crash at the Olympics

Nina O’Brien grew up skiing the legendary slopes of Palisades Tahoe, dreaming of one day taking her talents to the Olympics. She accomplished her dream but suffered a scary crash during the giant slalom on Monday, suffering an open fracture of her left tibia and fibula.

The San Francisco local was treated on the scene for her injuries and was transported to hospital where doctors performed surgery to stabilize the bones in her leg. The 24-year-old will travel back to the United States for “further evaluation and care,” according to the spokeswoman.

O’Brien expressed her gratitude in an emotional Instagram post:

“Well, I gave everything I had, and maybe too much,” she wrote. “I’m a little heartbroken, but also feeling so much love. Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. The good news is that today is a new day – and I get to cheer on my teammates.”

Representing Team Palisades Tahoe at the Olympics, O’Brien was competing in alpine skiing events in Beijing. She attended high school Burke Mountain Academy, a ski-racing academy in northern Vermont, and went on to become an economics major at Dartmouth College.  In the past two seasons, she has finished more regularly in the points in both slalom and giant slalom in the World Cup. Most recently, after recovering from a positive COVID-19 test, O’Brien battled to 25th place in a world cup slalom.

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