Beijing 2022: Cameraman knocked off his feet by freefalling freeskier

Freestyle skier Jon Sallinen had an unfortunate cameraman to thank at the Beijing Olympics after crashing into him on Thursday, helping to provide a "cushion" from a heavy fall, Report informs, citing foreign media.

The Finn flew out of the halfpipe on his first qualifying run at Genting Snow Park and collided into the cameraman, who was leaning over to film his trick.

Sallinen landed heavily on his collarbone on the side of the halfpipe and "felt some movement and heard some cracking" before getting up and skiing gingerly back down to the bottom.

The 21-year-old said after the competition that he thought he had broken his collarbone but he was "lucky not to land on my head".

He was not the only skier to crash in a competition taking place under steady snowfall.

New Zealand's Ben Harrington came down hard on the edge of the halfpipe and lay on the ground not moving for a few moments.

A team of medics rushed to his aid while New Zealand team-mate Nico Porteous cut short a TV interview and vaulted a barrier to check on him.

But Harrington got up after a few minutes and walked off the course, saying afterwards that his body was "OK".