A terrifying crash brought the Winter Olympics to a standstill Saturday after Austrian bobsleigh pilot Jakob Mandlbauer was stretchered off the track during the four-man final.
The 27-year-old driver lost control during the second heat when his sled tipped onto its side and slammed along the wall at blistering speed. Witnesses in Cortina — and viewers watching around the world — held their breath as the sled careened toward the finish line, unable to stop.
Inside the sled, Mandlbauer and his teammates Daniel Bertschler, Sebastian Mitterer and Daiyehan Nichols-Bardi ducked their heads as the sled bounced violently around the track at an estimated 70 to 90 miles per hour.
When the sled finally came to a halt, officials sprinted toward the wreckage. Bertschler, Mitterer and Nichols-Bardi managed to climb out. Mandlbauer did not.
Medics quickly surrounded the sled as concern spread through the venue. The Austrian Olympic Committee’s chief medical officer, Dr. Bernhard Unterkofler, treated Mandlbauer on the ice before he was rushed to a local hospital. The event was delayed for more than 20 minutes as emergency crews worked.
The Austrian Olympic Committee later confirmed Mandlbauer was stable and able to move all his limbs — a massive relief after such a violent crash.
Teammate Daniel Bertschler revealed the squad had struggled with that same turn in training.
“The entry wasn’t perfect, so there wasn’t much we could do toward the end,” he said. “We were glad that the Austrian Olympic Committee doctor was there immediately and took care of us.”
Commentators on TNT Sports immediately feared the worst.
“I think it’s the driver,” one said during the live broadcast. “He’s so far forward that they can’t lift the sled from the wall… you’re doing 70, 80, 90 miles an hour and being bounced around.”
Two-time Olympic bobsledder John Jackson echoed the concern on the BBC.
“As a sliding community, we all want to see each other safe and healthy,” Jackson said. “Nobody likes to see athletes crashing. You know things aren’t right because the medics are taking a little bit longer to take them off the track.”
The Austrian team was eliminated after being unable to finish the run. All three of Mandlbauer’s teammates reportedly received additional treatment on-site.
Photos from the venue showed volunteers scrambling to repair deep gouges left in the track from the impact before competition resumed.
Adding to the drama, the French team also crashed later in the event — though all four athletes escaped without injury.
For Mandlbauer and his team, what was meant to be an Olympic moment of glory quickly turned into one of the Games’ most frightening scenes.
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