In extreme sports, the line between incredible and dangerous is extremely thin. This was certainly the case during a scary moment on Thursday night for freestyle snowmobiler Colten Moore at the Winter X Games. During his semifinal run in the freestyle championships, Moore lost the handle of his snowmobile in the middle of a 120-foot jump. As the 22-year-old began his descent, he flailed his arms as he lost contact with his ride. As he fell, he was able to to twist himself upside-down, allowing him to land on his back instead of his head. Despite his potentially life-saving mid-air contortions, Moore still landed hard on the packed snow and slid down the hill behind the snowmobile.
Amazingly, Moore got up, walked it off. He even pumped up the crowd that had just seconds ago been so fearful that he would be injured.
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To cap his night, Moore went on to win the gold medal. Then he celebrated by Tebowing.
While the night certainly ended triumphantly for Moore, there was a stark reminder earlier in the night that not every crash has such a happy ending. Many Winter X Games athletes participated in a candlelight vigil to honor the memory of freestyle skier Sarah Burke, who died last week after suffering catastrophic injuries during a training accident.