Freeski halfpipe gold medal favourite Finley Melville Ives has suffered a nasty crash in the second of his Winter Olympics qualification runs, as he dropped out of the competition.

Having fallen in his first run, the pressure was on to land a second. He suffered the same fate again, but this time he lay on the ground of the halfpipe with medics rushing to give him attention, as TV cameras cut away and instead showed long-range shots and pictures of the shocked fans watching the action.

After a few minutes, Meilville Ives was stretchered away to the medical centre to be given more attention and assessment. Later on, the BBC confirmed that he was conscious and talking to medical staff.

The crash comes less than 24 hours after a similar situation in the women's event, when Canadian Cassie Sharpe crashed on her second run. She received medical treatment before being taken off on a stretcher.

It has since been confirmed that she is in a stable condition, although a major doubt to feature in the final, which she qualified for with her first run score.

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Unlike Sharpe, Melville Ives will not have a chance of featuring in the final. The New Zealander's crashes in both runs mean that he had not reached the qualification threshold.

That will be a big boost to his competitors, given that he is the reigning world and X Games champion. Team GB's former Hollywood actor Gus Kenworthy is one of the athletes who will look to make the most of Melville Ives' shock exit from the competition.

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Reacting to the crash, BBC commentators Ed Leigh and Tim Warwood said: "Oh, no, no, no. You don't want to see a final where you don't have everyone there.

"When the favourite goes down like this, it's so, so difficult to watch.

"It is an awful reminder of just how brutal this discipline is. They are pushing the limits, the fine line between crashing out and putting down a perfect run."