Connecticut's Julia Marino will not be competing in the women's big air snowboarding competition after sustaining an injury during practice.
The 24-year-old was set to jump 23rd in the 30-snowboarder field during qualifying Monday, just ahead of 2018 gold medalist Anna Gasser of Austria. It was a surprise when she didn’t appear.
Marino’s scratch appears to have been a late decision. The Connecticut resident shared video of herself practicing at Big Air Shougang on Instagram about 12 hours before qualifying began, encouraging followers to tune in.
A family member told NBC Connecticut that Julia fell in practice on Friday and hurt her tailbone.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Team USA snowboarding said in a statement that Marino fell during practice a few days ago and is “prioritizing her health.”
Marino recently won the silver medal in the women's snowboard slopestyle event.
Don’t miss the most exciting moments of the Winter Olympics in Beijing! Sign up for our Olympics newsletter.
Marino's medal was the first for Team USA to start out the 2022 Winter Olympics. She took charge of the leaderboard with a final score of 87.86.
