Cassie Sharpe of Canada crashes on her second run

One fall may have cost her a chance to win a medal.

Cassie Sharpe fell during her second run in the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe qualifications. It was a frightening moment that brought the event to a halt.

The weather in Italy has been quite treacherous for the Winter Olympics athletes. Earlier this week, Finnish skier and Olympic debutant Elias Lajunen landed hard on his back during his freeski big air qualification run at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno. After Lajunen came to a stop face-down on the ice, he lay motionless for a few seconds as medical professionals rushed over to help him.

We’ve also seen Chinese Snowboarder Liu Jiayu get stretchered off the snow following a crash that left her motionless.

Now, we have our third skier to suffer the same fate.

Olympic Champion Cassie Sharpe Injured in Women’s Halfpipe Event

Feb 19, 2026; Livigno, Italy; Cassie Sharpe of Canada crashes on her second run in the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe qualification during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
The women’s freeski halfpipe event at this year’s Winter Olympics was momentarily halted after Canada’s Cassie Sharpe suffered a nasty fall. Video from that moment showed her landing several tricks before her final one ended terribly.

Sharpe lost her footing and toppled over during the second of her two qualifying runs. She lay motionless on the snow as officials ran out to help her. After being tended to by medical staff for several agonizing minutes, she was eventually stretchered off the halfpipe.

According to Freestyle Canada CEO Peter Judge, Sharpe lost consciousness upon colliding with the ground. She was transported to the Livigno clinic for further testing. The 33-year-old is currently in stable condition after awakening and speaking.

Despite the terrible fall, Cassie Sharpe punched her ticket to Saturday’s final by scoring 88.25 points in her first run. She trailed only Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin and China’s Li Fanghui. Judge told CBC that Sharpe is unlikely to take part in the final out of an abundance of caution. However, Freestyle Canada is still waiting on updates from its medical staff.

The two-time Olympic medalist won gold in the halfpipe at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang before claiming silver at the 2022 Beijing Games.