U.S. skier suffers compound fracture

BEIJING — The U.S. ski team says American skier Nina O’Brien has sustained a compound fracture of her left tibia and fibula when she fell toward the end of the women’s giant slalom at the Beijing Games.

Monday’s race had to be delayed for 5 minutes when O’Brien slid across the finish line at the end of her second run. She was screaming in pain after stumbling through the last gate as her skis crossed in front of her.

O’Brien was taken to hospital in Yanqing for “an initial stabilization procedure” and the team says she will return to the U.S. for further evaluation and care.

The 24-year-old O’Brien had been sixth fastest after the opening run.

American-born Eileen Gu of China cranked out the first 1620 of her career on her final jump, stunning France’s Tess Ledeux and earning the first of what she hopes will be three gold medals in women’s freestyle big air.

Nicknamed the “Snow Princess,” Gu is among the biggest local names at the Beijing Games. She’s a medal favorite in big air, slopestyle and halfpipe. Her first stab at gold came down to the last round.

The 18-year-old from San Francisco shrieked when she landed the jump, then dropped to her knees when her score of 94.50 was announced.