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Days before the Australian snowboarder was set to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, he was forced to withdraw from the men’s snowboard cross race on Feb. 12 after suffering an injury, the Australian Olympic Team confirmed on social media.
Bolton fell during a snowboarding training session in Milan on February 9, according to multiple outlets. Although the 35-year-old, who last competed in the Beijing Winter Games in 2022, appeared to be fine after practice, he awoke the next day with severe neck pain and sought medical attention.
According to the outlets, Bolton's scans revealed he had two fractures, so he was airlifted from the mountain to another facility in Milan for further treatment. As of now, Australia's Chef de Mission Alisa Camplin-Warner has assured him that he is "doing well" during his recovery.
"Cam wanted to make [sure] his teammates understood what was happening and that he was fine and doing well and being looked after well," Camplin-Warner told reporters at the time. "He understands how serious we are about the process of supporting him, and the communication has been excellent. I am proud of the level of care."
Bolton is not the only athlete to sustain a serious injury on his way to the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Indeed, alpine skier Lindsey Vonn famously crashed while competing in the women’s downhill final on Feb. 8. She later revealed she “sustained a complex tibia fracture,” which involves significant damage to multiple bone fragments in her legs, that will “require multiple surgeries to fix properly.”
"I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside the gate, twisting me and causing my crash," the 41-year-old explained in an
Instagram post on February 9. "My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever."
Despite the unfortunate accident, Vonn—who had originally retired from the sport in 2019 due to chronic knee pain—stated that she has "no regrets" about returning to the slopes.
"Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget," she told me. “Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I was also aware that racing was a risk. It has always been and will continue to be an incredibly dangerous sport.”
