Sweden's cross-country relay gold medal hopes were shattered at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Saturday after Ebba Andersson suffered a horror fall and broken ski. The 28-year-old, already having fallen once, was speeding downhill when her left ski collided with her right foot, sending her crashing face-first into the slope. Her right ski flew off, and she was unable to reattach it, eventually carrying the broken blade under her arm as she ran.
Commentator Ian Woods of TNT Sports exclaimed: "Oh again, what has happened? And she has lost a ski. It is broken - the binding is still attached to her boot, so that ski is no use whatsoever." TV2 expert Petter Skinstad added: "Ebba Andersson looks really stressed in the downhill here now. Terrified, simply!"
Despite the disaster, Sweden's Frida Karlsson and Jonna Sundling mounted a late comeback, overtaking several teams to secure a silver medal. Norway took gold with a time of one hour and 15 minutes, Sweden trailing by about 50 seconds, while Finland claimed bronze, one minute and 14 seconds behind Norway.
After the race, Andersson described her performance as a "complete disaster" and told TNT Sports: "Unfortunately for the team, my leg got a really big gap for both Frida and Jonna to chase the other nations." She added: "My body feels okay, but it hurts more in my heart."
Teammate Karlsson expressed solidarity, saying: "I was just determined to give it my all out there and fight for the team. We will give [Ebba] a lot of hugs and love and we share her emotions."
