Team USA women’s hockey star Brianna Decker is out of the Winter Olympics after suffering a serious leg injury during the teams’s first game in Beijing. The 30-year-old Decker was taken off the ice after a collision with Finland’s Ronja Savolainen during the preliminary round women’s hockey game. Decker could be heard screaming in pain after Savolainen’s leg hooked around Decker’s leg and the pair fell to the ice, with the Finnish player landing on top of her opponent. Decker was unable to put any weight on the leg after the incident in the first period of the game. Decker was later seen on crutches next to the bench and was embraced by teammates as they left the ice.
Team USA says that the forward, considered one of the world’s best players, will miss the rest of the competition. Decker has helped Team USA to six gold medals and two silvers at the World Championships. She won a silver medal with the team at the 2014 Olympics at Sochi, but helped the US win a gold in 2018 in Pyeongchang. In 2019, Decker also took part in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
U.S.A. beat Finland 5- 2 and will play the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) on Friday.
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