Austrian snowboarder Markus Schairer suffered a horrific injury Thursday at the Winter Olympics, breaking the fifth cervical vertebra in his neck in a snowboard cross quarterfinal after he landed on his neck during a jump.
He finished the race, and the Austrian Olympic Committee later said there were no early signs of neurological impairment. It is unclear where he is receiving medical treatment.
Schairer, 30, shared a photo on Instagram late Friday, assuring fans he'll be fine.
Wearing a neck brace, Schairer called it "my own personal medall (sic) now." While his message revealed disappointment about missing an Olympic medal, he is grateful that he will recover from what he called "one of the worst crashes in my entire live (sic)." He wrote that there are no neurological deficits, so "I will be able to walk soon."
Schairer wrote:
"my dream did not come true. i don not bring home gold, silver or bronce.
instead i'm wearing my own personal medall now. honestly, i had more than one guardian-angle. i broke my neck (5th cervial spine) at one of the worst crashes in my entire live. luckily there are no neurological deficits, so i will be able to walk soon.
when such things happen, you really start knowing whats important!
thanks for the massive support from my family, friends, the @olympic_team_austria and all the wishes from all around the world!!
big applause for my opponents but friends on the podium."
A three-time Olympian, Schairer was in fourth place at the time of his crash.
A post shared by Markus Schairer (@markusschairer) on
Here's the crash from Thursday in which Schairer suffered the injury:
Contributing: Tom Schad