Rina Yoshika suffered a heavy crash during pre-Olympic slopestyle training

Japanese snowboarder Rina Yoshika suffered injuries during pre-Olympic training, falling hard on the slopestyle course at Genting Snow Park on Thursday.

The 23-year-old lay motionless on the course where she crash-landed during one of her jumps.

Medical staff rushed to help her, but it took more than 20 minutes to move the star from the scene on a stretcher.

Yoshika was described as crying out in pain when medical personal tried to move her.

A representative of Japan’s team said the athlete was taken to the hospital by ambulance, adding, however, that it was a precautionary measure, with no confirmation yet whether her injuries were serious. 

The athlete was set to compete in the slopestyle and big air events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, but for now her participation in the Games remains in doubt.

The women’s snowboard events start this Saturday, with slopestyle medals set to be awarded on Sunday.

A total of 109 sets of medals in 15 sporting events will be up for grabs in the next two weeks.