The medical assessments are in and it’s been confirmed that New Zealand freeskier Fin Melville Ives broke his collarbone in crashing out during the qualification rounds of the halfpipe competition at the Winter Olympics.
Melville Ives, the current world champion and one of New Zealand’s best medal hopes, was stretchered off after the heavy fall during his second run after being knocked unconscious.
He’s now recovering and remains in good spirits, jesting his injuries are “nothing but a scratch”.
“It was really a game of two halves,” he said afterwards, with his sense of humour intact.
Melville Ives, 19, also thanked the medical staff that have helped him so far, and his coach Murray Buchan.
In a post on social media, the Dunedin-born, Wānaka-raised athlete referred to his love of fly fishing while reflecting on the crash.
“The trout spat the hook so close to the net,” he wrote on Instagram.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall – Nelson Mandela.”
Another Kiwi halfpipe freeskier Ben Harrington, who finished ninth, dedicated his second run to Melville Ives, saying to cameras on the slopes, “Hey Finski, this one’s for you, brother, love you, let’s go skiing.”