Winter Olympics: Reigning Olympic women's downhill champion Carole Montillet-Carles was among three racers taken to hospital as a series of spectacular crashes marred the second day of official training.
Montillet-Carles’ fitness to defend her title on Wednesday was being assessed by French team doctors after the accident in which she tumbled through two safety barriers.
American Lindsay Kildow and Canada’s Allison Forsyth were both helicoptered to hospital after also experiencing serious tumbles on the challenging San Sicario Fraiteve course.
Kildow was diagnosed as suffering from minor head trauma without neurological problems, and was set to be kept in hospital for 24 hours.
Forsyth left hospital wearing a knee brace after suffering a left knee sprain with an anterior cruciate ligament lesion.
Meanwhile Japanese snowboarder Melo Imai suffered shoulder trauma after being knocked unconscious during her women’s half-pipe routine at Bardonecchia.
And the host nation’s best female luge hope Anastasia Oberstolz-Antonova crashed on her first run at Cesana Pariol.
She managed to walk off the course and required only three stitches in an elbow injury but was eliminated from the competition.
On the first day of curling action at Pinerolo, reigning Olympic champions Norway suffered a shock defeat to the unfancied Americans.
Paal Trulsen’s men were hammered 11-5 with US skip Pete Fenson grabbing the vital advantage with a three-stone win on the fifth end.
But Trulsen insisted his side could still live up to their billing as favourites to reclaim the Olympic title they won in Salt Lake city.
Trulsen said: "I would say it is a normal start for us because we always seem to lose the first match.
"The Americans played better than us. He (Fenson) made a fantastic shot for three in the fifth and that was the winning shot.