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United States ski jumper Ben Loomis luckily avoided what could’ve been a disaster at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games on Thursday after being struck by a leaf blower on his attempted jump.
Loomis was a part of the Nordic combined team sprint on Thursday, where he was going down the track to attempt his big jump when he was struck by one of the leaf blowers on the side of the track.
Workers at the Olympics are stationed alongside the track to blow off excess snow, ensuring that the participants have a clean jump where they are also not slowed down. The weather conditions have also required numerous leaf blowers to make sure the track is clear.
However, one of the leaf blowers wasn’t paying attention as Loomis was coming down, and the 27-year-old American collided with it.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Loomis said to NRK. “Fortunately, it happened at the top, so I just tried to convince myself to make a good jump.”
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Loomis added, “If it had hit me in the face, it would have been a completely different story.”
Loomis was able to get a 116-meter jump on that attempt despite the obstacle at the top of the track.
Loomis reportedly received apologies from Olympic officials for the incident, but he said he didn’t want to redo his jump.
“It was good that nothing more happened, but it should not happen,” competition director Lasse Ottesen said, per the New York Post. “The person has apologized to the jury and [International Ski and Snowboard Federation] apologizes to the USA.”
In the end, Loomis and teammate Niklas Malacinski finished in seventh place, unable to medal in the team event.
Meanwhile, Norway won gold in the event, while Finland and Austria took silver and bronze, respectively.
The U.S. has accumulated 26 total medals in Milan, including the most recent gold medal for the women’s ice hockey team in a thrilling overtime victory over Canada, 2-1. The U.S. has eight gold medals now, with the closing ceremony set for Sunday.
The 26-medal total is tied for second among countries participating, as Italy also has the same amount as the U.S. Norway leads the way with 34 medals.
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