An ill wind blows through Pyeongchang

Icy winds tore through the mountains at the Pyeongchang Olympics yesterday, wreaking havoc at a snowboard final, forcing the postponement of the Alpine skiing for a second successive day, and raising questions about athlete safety.

Competitors, officials and a few brave fans made their way around the Olympic venues wrapped in layers of scarves, hats and thick coats as the biting wind added a chill factor to temperatures already hovering around -20C.

At the Yongpyong resort, winds in excess of 70 kilometres per hour prevented the Alpine skiing competition from getting under way for the second day in a row with the women’s giant slalom joining the men’s downhill in being moved to Thursday. The gusts were not as strong at the Phoenix Snow Park but caused farcical conditions for the women’s slopestyle final with snowboarders, who had spent four years perfecting their routines, blown off the hill by crosswinds.

Hailey Langland, who fell on first run but put in a solid second effort to finish sixth, said: “We are snowboarders and should be able to deal with it. The girls on podium showed that and that is why they are up there.”

Australian snowboarder Tess Coady, however, was left contemplating a lengthy period of recuperation yesterday after suffering a serious knee injury in practice on Sunday.