US Skier Ben Loomis Hits Leaf Blower in Olympic Jump

In the Nordic combined team sprint at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Predazzo, Italy, American athlete Ben Loomis collided with a leaf blower during his ski jump launch on Thursday, narrowly avoiding serious injury but completing the event unscathed. The 27-year-old from Team USA struck the equipment on his shoulder as he accelerated down the inrun, yet managed a solid jump of 116 meters, helping secure a seventh-place finish alongside teammate Niklas Malacinski.

The incident occurred amid heavy snowfall that has plagued the Milano Cortina Games, prompting officials to use leaf blowers to clear loose snow from the tracks between jumps. Lines of workers positioned along the 120-meter hill typically remove the devices in time for each athlete's descent. In Loomis's case, one official was slow to pull the blower aside, causing it to catch his shoulder and scuff his uniform. Loomis reported no pain from the contact, which happened near the top of the ramp.

"I've never experienced anything like this," Loomis said afterward. "Fortunately, it happened at the top, so I just tried to convince myself to make a good jump. If it had hit me in the face, it would have been a completely different...