BEIJING, China — American alpine skier Nina O'Brien said goodbye to Beijing as she returns to the United States to continue her treatment after she suffered a hard crash in the giant slalom.
O'Brien, who trains in Vail, posted an update with a photo of her with her medical care team, on her Instagram page Thursday. She broke her left leg in multiple locations in the crash, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboard.
She was sixth after the first run of the Winter Olympics women's giant slalom event, then hit a gate and crashed in the final turn of her second run. A U.S. Ski Team spokesperson said shortly after that O'Brien was "alert and responsive" as she was taken away on a sled.
On Thursday, she said on Instagram that she couldn't "leave without saying thank you one more time."
"The support I’ve felt over these last few days has been truly mind blowing," she said in the post. "I haven’t been able to keep up with the messages, but please know that they’ve made this all a bit easier. It wasn’t the Olympics I’d dreamed of, but the dream lives on anyways. Onwards!"
O'Brien had surgery in China to stabilize her tibia, which she said was an open fracture through her leg. The U.S. Ski Team said O'Brien suffered a compound fracture of her left tibia and fibula.
On Tuesday, she thanked her doctors and nurses, and she spoke about her disappointment in how her giant slalom performance turned out.
"I'm a little heartbroken, but also feeling so much love" she said. "Thank you to everyone who's reached out. My phone is flooded with messages, and waking up to your words means more than you know."
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