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American ski jumper Ben Loomis fortunately avoided what could have been a disaster at the Milan Cortina 2026 Games on Thursday after being hit by a leaf blower during his jump attempt.
Loomis was competing in the Nordic combined team sprint Thursday, where he was heading down the track to attempt his big jump when he was hit by one of the leaf blowers at the side of the track.
At the Olympics, workers are stationed along the track to remove excess snow, ensuring participants have a clean jump without being slowed down. The weather conditions also required numerous leaf blowers to keep the runway clear.
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Benjamin Loomis of Team USA reacts during the ski jumping competition round of the Nordic Combined Individual Gundersen Large Hill/10km on the eleventh day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium on February 17, 2026 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Tom Weller/Getty Images)
However, one of the leaf blowers was not paying attention as Loomis was coming down and the 27-year-old American collided with him.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Loomis told NRK. “Luckily it happened at the top, so I just tried to convince myself to take a good jump.”
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Loomis added: “If it had hit me in the face, it would have been a completely different story.”
Loomis managed to land a jump of 116 meters during this attempt despite the obstacle at the top of the track.
Benjamin Loomis of Team USA competes in the Gundersen/10km Individual Large Hill Ski Jumping event on the eleventh day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium on February 17, 2026 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Loomis reportedly received an apology from Olympic officials for the incident, but said he did not want to repeat his jump.
“It’s a good thing that nothing more happened, but it shouldn’t happen,” pageant director Lasse Ottesen said, according to the New York Post. “The person apologized to the jury and [International Ski and Snowboard Federation] apologizes to the United States.
Ultimately, Loomis and teammate Niklas Malacinski finished in seventh place, unable to medal in the team event.
Meanwhile, Norway won gold in this event, while Finland and Austria took silver and bronze respectively.
Benjamin Loomis of Team USA competes in the Nordic Combined Team Sprint ski jumping event on the thirteenth day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium on February 19, 2026 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The United States accumulated 26 medals in total in Milan, including the most recent gold for the women’s ice hockey team in a thrilling overtime victory over Canada, 2-1. The United States now has eight gold medals, with the closing ceremony scheduled for Sunday.
The total of 26 medals is tied for second among participating countries, with Italy also having the same number as the United States, with Norway leading with 34 medals.
