Olympics-Snowboarding-Australian Brockhoff crashes, taken off course on stretcher

By Winni Zhou and Mari Saito

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) -Australia's Belle Brockhoff was taken off the snowboard cross course by stretcher on Saturday after she fell during the mixed team quarter-final at the Beijing Games.

The Australian Olympic Committee said on Twitter Brockhoff was being treated on the course after an "awkward fall."

Asked whether the boarder was badly hurt, one of the staff members from the Australian team said she was okay as the athlete was seen being put into an ambulance on a stretcher.

A member of the rescue team told Reuters the Australian athlete was conscious.

Brockhoff fell as she was chasing American Lindsey Jacobellis in the quarter-final after their boards clipped each other.

The event resumed after a brief delay.

Heavy snow began to fall in Zhangjiakou ahead of Saturday's final, covering the course with a layer of powdery snow. Air temperatures fell to -11 degree Celsius (12.2°F) and visibility was lower than normal.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Mari SaitoEditing by Peter Rutherford & Shri Navaratnam)