Nordic combined-American jumper Loomis hit by leaf blower

Advertisement Sport Nordic combined-American jumper Loomis hit by leaf blower 19 Feb 2026 11:38PM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST PREDAZZO, Italy, Feb 19 : U.S. Nordic combined athlete Ben Loomis encountered an unexpected obstacle in Thursday's Olympic team sprint when he was struck by a leaf blower as he launched from the start bar in the ski jump after an official failed to clear the equipment in time.Leaf blowers have been used during the ski jumping competitions to clear the in-run of loose snow, with lines of officials positioned along the track to operate the equipment between jumps.The machine caught Loomis on the shoulder and although it scuffed his uniform it did not cause any pain. The unusual incident also failed to faze Loomis, who finished in seventh place alongside teammate Niklas Malacinski, and took the collision in his stride."Unfortunately one of them was a little bit too late pulling theirs (leafblower) out of the way, but they're human and things can happen," he told Reuters. Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners. Loading Loomis was offered a chance to redo his jump, but declined in part due to worsening snow conditions which could have slowed the in-run."I was still pretty happy with the jump and had the opportunity to take a second jump, but decided that conditions were probably getting worse and it kind of mentally was my competition jump, so I was happy with it," he said. Source: Reuters Newsletter Recommended Read Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. Sign up for our newsletters Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Subscribe here Get the CNA app Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Download here Get WhatsApp alerts Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app Join here Advertisement Also worth reading Content is loading... Advertisement Expand to read the full story Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST