Marino drops out of Olympic big air contest, Anderson falls

Beijing — Slopestyle silver medalist Julia Marino of the United States has dropped out of the Olympic snowboard big air contest after a fall in practice while teammate Jamie Anderson fell during her first two runs and won’t qualify for the big air finals.

The 24-year-old Marino was set to jump 23rd in the 30-snowboarder field during qualifying Monday, just ahead of 2018 gold medalist Anna Gasser of Austria. It was a surprise when she didn't appear.

Team USA snowboarding said in a statement that Marino fell during practice a few days ago and is “prioritizing her health.”

Marino's scratch appears to have been a late decision. The Connecticut resident shared video of herself practicing at Big Air Shougang on Instagram about 12 hours before qualifying began, encouraging followers to tune in.

Anderson, a 31-year-old from California, won silver in big air and gold in slopestyle at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, defending her slopestyle title from Sochi in 2014.