Finnish skier Elias Lajunen in terrifying 2026 Winter Olympics fall
There was yet another scary Olympics crash Sunday in Milano Cortina.
Finnish skier Elias Lajunen landed hard on his back during his freeski big air qualification run at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, leading to a violent crash where he was knocked unconscious. After Lajunen came to a stop face-down on the ice, he lay motionless for a few seconds as medical professionals rushed over to help him.
However, Lajunen was able to sit up under his own power and gave the crowd a thumbs up to show he was OK. He was eventually taken off on a stretcher to a round of applause.
Lajunen suffered an injury to the right side of his face, but per Finnish media outlet YLE, he is “doing well.” Further tests showed no major injuries, but he stayed in the hospital overnight.
The 18-year-old Lajunen, the son of three-time Olympic gold medalist Samppa Lajunen, was making his Olympic debut in 2026.
He competed earlier in the Games in the slopestyle qualifications but didn’t advance, placing 18th. His crash Sunday also put him out of the running to claim a medal in the big air event after he didn’t participate in the third qualifying run.
Along with Lajunen, Finland’s Elias Syrja and Kuura Koivisto competed in the qualifiers Sunday but failed to advance to the final round.
Instead, the United States’ Mac Forehand led the pack with a score of 183.00, and he’ll try for a gold in the finals Tuesday.
Following a failure to send a skier to the big air finals, Finland sits in 23rd place with just three medals at the 2026 Olympics — all bronze. Those medals came from Suvi Minkkinen in the biathlon, Eero Hirvonen in the Nordic combined and a group effort in the women’s cross country relay.
2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
- See today’s Olympics schedule and medal count
- US figure skating makes Olympics appeal decision after French judging controversy
- Olympian’s gold medal hopes dashed as he’s disqualified over size of his ski boots
- Lindsey Vonn set for ‘further surgeries’ after flying back to US
- USA men’s hockey still has time to raise level to match dominant Canadians
Norway leads all countries with 26 medals and 12 golds, while Italy, the Netherlands and the United States trail with eight, six and five golds, respectively.
For the U.S., it’s largely been a disappointing 2026 Games, with stars such as Ilia Malinin and Chloe Kim failing to claim gold. Instead, speedskater Jordan Stolz has kept them in the medal race with two golds thus far.
But for Finland, it’s not getting any better after Lajunen’s cras
