Olympic halfpipe problems mounting

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) ― Rider after rider took a crash course Monday night on an Olympic halfpipe that looked only half ready with less than 24 hours until men’s competition is set to start.

There were dozens of falls, very few big tricks and a lot of complaining during a practice session that was pushed from morning to night while workers tried to make fixes. The men’s event is Tuesday.

“When you see every other person fall, you know something’s wrong,” said American Hannah Teter, who took gold in 2006 and silver four years ago.

“It’s a little dangerous. I’ve seen more people fall today than I saw all season. It’s dangerous because it’s crappy.”

American Danny Davis labeled the halfpipe as “garbage” on Sunday.

After returning Monday, he said things were slightly improved but not ideal.

“It’s a bummer to show up to an event like the Olympics and not have the quality of the halfpipe match the quality of the riders,” Davis said. “Anyone who watched practice tonight can see there were a bunch of people bouncing around in the flat bottom.”

White called it “pretty hard to ride,” but said it was nothing riders haven’t dealt with before at other competitions.

“The flat bottom is just sand and mush,” he said. “It’s pretty heavy. And once everyone gets in there, it just turns to mush.”

Riders said the steeply vertical pitch of the halfpipe has largely been corrected. But the bottom of the pipe is bouncy and slow. Dozens of riders clattered through the bottom, which slows speed and causes wrecks.