Australian Belle Brockhoff has been cleared of serious injury after she was taken to hospital for x-rays following a heavy crash in the quarter-finals of the mixed snowboard cross teams event at the Beijing Olympics.
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Brockhoff, 29, complained of neck soreness after the crash, which saw her taken down the mountain in a ski patrol bucket to be assessed.
She was then transported to hospital althought the AOC said it was as a "precaution".
The Australian camp later released a statement saying the triple Olympian had been cleared in scans and was returning to the Games village.
"CT and MRI all clear - Belle is out of the neck collar and heading back to the athletes village shortly," the AOC said.
Brockhoff was in a qualifying position in second when she got too much speed off a jump and clipped the board of the leader, American Lindsey Jacobellis, who won gold in the women's event.
Countrywoman Josie Baff also crashed out, ending Australian hopes of a medal in the new addition to the Olympic program.
Both Australian pairings were drawn in the second of four quarter-finals and male boarders Cameron Bolton and Adam Lambert successfully navigated the opening leg.
But with snow falling at Genting Snow Park, the luckless Brockhoff and Baff both failed to finish the second leg, ensuring that the United States and Switzerland claimed the top two positions.
Five-time Olympian Jacobellis, 36, and her partner Nick Baumgartner who is 40, went on to win the final from Italy with Canada taking bronze.
Brockhoff and Bolton were Australia's top-seeded pair, with Baff and Lambert only being added to the field on Friday night following the late withdrawal of a team from the Czech Republic.
Australia went into the event confident as reigning world champions, with Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes winning the mixed team world title in Sweden last year.
However Bolton was preferred over PyeongChang silver medallist Hughes, who struggled in the men's individual race.
Bolton said they felt positive about their chances of winning Australia's first snowboard cross medal of the Games.
"Belle and I were super confident about our chances coming in to this," said Bolton, who was also at his third OIympics.
"I've been feeling comfortable all season and riding well and Belle has been such an incredible rider all year.
"She's so strong here on this course. We were in a good headspace and we came into today really confident but unfortunately it's not the way it went.
"Either of our teams could have gone a long way today so it's heart-breaking for Australian boardercross."
Australian Associated Press
