U.S. Olympian Arielle Gold has suffered a devastating setback. The 17-year-old snowboarder has been forced to pull out of the Sochi halfpipe contest after injuring her shoulder during a training run just minutes before she was scheduled to compete on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
Gold, who hails from Steamboat Springs, Colo., was training before her qualification round when she crashed at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, USA Today reports. Prior to her accident, she was expected to be a medal contender.
"It's definitely a bummer to see Arielle get hurt, because she's such a strong rider," teammate Kaitlyn Farrington told USA Today of Gold, whose brother, Taylor, is also a member of Team U.S.A. "I would have loved to see her there with us tonight."
Gold, who has been snowboarding since she was 7 years old, had a breakout season in 2013. As noted on her U.S. Snowboarding profile, she won the FIS World Snowboarding Championships, took third place at the X Games in Aspen, and qualified for a spot on the U.S. Snowboarding pro team.
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