Canada's Elena Gaskell pulls out of inaugural women's Olympic big air freeski event

Canadian freestyle skier Elena Gaskell will not compete at the Beijing Games in the qualifying round of the first-ever Olympics freeski Big Air event on Monday, she announced on her Instagram.

"I'm absolutely heartbroken... Thank you to everyone who was going to watch me and has already been so supportive this whole experience," the 20-year-old Gaskell wrote on Sunday.

She did not give a reason for her decision to pull out after she had joined a training session in the Shougang big air venue.

A spokesperson for the Canadian Olympic Committee said the reason was not COVID-related and it will provide updates later.

Beijing is the first Olympics for Gaskell, who won World Cup bronze in the big air event in Chur, Switzerland in October.

It was unclear if she would still compete in other events at the Games, including halfpipe and slopestyle.

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