Pushing too far off the initial wall, Finland’s Sallinen lost control in the second half of the run as his skis took a swipe at the eager camera operator. Sallinen’s previous jump looked a little daring, with Eurosport commentator James Webb noticing the skier’s weight was “too far forward” and beyond recovery. Going into the next jump, Sallinen looked off balance and the lack of stability sent the skier over the edge and into the camera.

Thankfully the crash wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Sallinen’s skis collided with the camera and knocked the equipment out of the operator’s hands and onto the floor. As far as getting a face full of freeski goes, the cameraman seems to have made it out lightly.

“I hope the cameraman is okay, I landed directly on him!”

With the cameraman attended to by his colleagues, Sallinen carefully completed his run, leaving behind a precious extreme close-up and a score of 18 out of a possible 100. The Finn’s low score meant he unsurprisingly finished in last place, but he seemed to care more about the cameraman and less about his score. Speaking at the finish line, the skier expressed his concern: “I hope the cameraman is okay, I landed directly on him!”

What a way to kick off his first Olympic appearance. It might have been a run to forget for Sallinen, but we’re not sure the cameraman will forget this anytime soon. Talk about a story for the pub!

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