A fractured leg has forced Australian snowboard halfpipe rider Nate Johnstone out of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.

Scans revealed a small fracture of the left fibular and Nate underwent surgery over the weekend.

Johnstone, 19, from Sydney suffered the injury in a training mishap in Michigan last Wednesday when he fell while landing in an airbag. He apparently landed with his weight forward over the nose of his board and felt a “crack”.

Johnstone was ranked number two on the FIS World Cup snowboard rankings last season and was considered a genuine medal chance at the Games.

The Chef de Mission for the Australian Team, Ian Chesterman, said today “it is a great shame for Nate. He has proven himself to be one of the top snowboarders in the world and it is a pity he won’t get to compete at the Games. Hopefully he will try again in four years time in Sochi”.

 AOC