A hard crash on the Livigno big air ramp on Wednesday evening sent three-time Olympic bronze medalist Mark McMorris to the hospital. His fate was unknown for a long time, with various reports suggesting that he was taken into immediate medical care. However, the snowboarder himself confirmed his condition just an hour ago. And it captured a lot of eyes, including Shaun White and the entire community.

On his Instagram, McMorris uploaded a video, stating, “I took a fall last night. I hit my head and I will not be able to compete in big air tonight unfortunately, but fortunately things are looking up for slopestyle so just trying to stay positive and shift my focus to that event.” Indeed, the Men’s Snowboard Big Air Qualification is set to be live at 19:30 (local time), and there’s no way for the Canadian to make it.

However, the 32-year-old confirmed that he would be present at the Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Qualification, which is on February 16, Monday, at 14:00 (local time). “A massive thank you to the amazing medical staff that took awesome care of me and thank you all for reaching out. All the love and support. I haven’t been on my phone much but the messages do not go unnoticed so thank you. I will keep you updated and much love. Cheers,” he added.

His update, though, couldn’t stop Shaun White from giving his two cents of motivation. The former US Olympian wrote on Instagram, stating, “You got this bud 💪” The 39-year-old, who won three Olympic gold medals in halfpipe for Team USA, has navigated various injuries throughout his stellar career.

While big air wasn’t one of his classes to compete in, White knows the risks of such injuries. Indeed, launching from a ramp towering over 50 meters (165 feet) to attempt multiple spins before committing to a perfect landing is no easy task. A single misstep can cause the snowboarder to fall in an awkward position, which sometimes can be fatal too. However, White wasn’t the only one out there, who prayed for McMorris.

Shaun White wasn’t alone in cheering for Mark McMorris’ recovery

The Canadian Olympic Committee was the first to inform that Mark McMorris “had a heavy crash this evening.” Even Canada Snowboard went on to write on an Instagram post, stating, “Mark’s okay, we wish him the best. More to come.” However, the concerns were everywhere. So, following Shaun White, there were a lot others to wish him a fast recovery.

American freestyle skier and 2014 Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy wrote, “Hope your head is okay. Pulling for you for slope!” The show of support extended to a younger generation of champions, with American gold medalist Red Gerard adding, “King ❤️”

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Even former NHL player turned media personality Paul Bissonnette commented, “Legend. Heal up fast. We need ya.” Among many fans, this message read, “Heal up Mark, hope to see you in slopestyle and bring a medal home.” Another fan wrote, “Noooo !!! 😢😢😢 !! Well Done for slope style 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼”

The entire incident was scary for many. Canada Snowboard’s vice-president of business development and partnerships, Brendan Matthews, said, “He’s up this morning. He’s feeling good. It always looks scary when someone takes a hard fall like that, but all things considered it’s good news. In our sport, we like to call it a ‘snow snake’ that comes up and bites you out of nowhere. Just a little bit of loose snow that was on the slope. Nobody’s fault but unfortunately these things happen in an extreme sport like ours.”

With slopestyle qualification scheduled for February 16, McMorris’ focus has now shifted, and he carries with him the unified backing of the entire Winter Olympics community.