A skier lost control, flew out of the Olympic halfpipe, and smashed skis-first into a cameraman — sending him crashing into the snow

• Finnish skier Jon Sallinen had a day to forget at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday.
• Sallinen lost control during a trick and smashed into a cameraman in the men's halfpipe competition.

The Finnish freestyle skier Jon Sallinen smashed into a camera operator after he misjudged one of his tricks during the men's halfpipe qualifying at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday.

Sallinen was halfway through his first run when he lost control as he reached the top of the pipe, soaring over the edge and slamming skis first into a cameraman to send him crashing into the snow.

The 21-year-old skier, who also fell as a result of the crash, got back up and dropped back into the pipe to complete his run. The judges were unimpressed, giving him a score of just 18 out of 100.

On his second run, though he didn't crash into another staff member, or anything for that matter, Sallinen managed to score only 18.5 — meaning he finished last out of the 23 competitors.

"I wasn't even sure if I was gonna ski on my second run after my crash, I hope the cameraman is OK, I landed directly on him," Sallinen said after the event, according to Reuters.

It is unclear if the cameraman sustained any injuries in the incident, but he was seen back on his feet and recording again soon after.

Watch footage of the crash here:

Or if you're in another region, here:

While Thursday was a day to forget for Sallinen, Beijing's brightest young star Eileen Gu had another great day, smashing women's halfpipe qualifying.

China's Gu put down two impressive runs of 93.75 and 95.50 to finish top and book her place in the Friday's final, where she will be looking to become the first action-sports athlete to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics.

The 18-year-old won gold in the women's freestyle-skiing big-air competition last week before claiming silver in the women's ski slopestyle competition on Tuesday.

"I'm really happy that I finally landed my first run," she told the Olympics' official website.

"I don't know what it's been with these Olympics, but every [qualification], every final, it's come down to the last run, but today I woke up and was like, 'Today's the day I break the cycle.'

Prior to the event, Gu revealed that her grandma was going to be in the stands to watch her compete for the first ever time.

"She's never watched me compete before, so I'm pretty excited," she said. "She's always saying, 'Be safe, be safe, be safe.' That's her biggest thing. I think she'll be proud of me no matter what, and for that I'm forever grateful, but of course I want to do my best and I want to be able to share that with her."

Grandma's presence clearly proved to be a good luck charm for Gu and after the event, she shared a photo on Instagram of them together holding her Olympic medals.

"Ready for pipe finals tomorrow," she wrote.