Markus Schairer of Austria suffered a terrible fall during the men's snowboard cross quarterfinals on Thursday, with the snowboarder losing vertical control of his board and landing on his back. The result of the crash was a broken neck, but there will not be serious permanent damage, according to doctors that evaluated the injury.

Schairer fractured the fifth cervical vertebrae, and the impact caused his head to whip back and his goggles to fly off. In spite of the injury, Schairer somehow got back to his feet and finished the race without assistance.

The Austrian Olympic committee released a statement after the crash. Roughly translated, it said:

Snowboard crosser Markus Schairer suffered a fracture of the fifth cervical vertebra during his fall in the quarterfinals in Bokwang. The good news: Neurological impairments are not present, consequential damage can currently be ruled out. In addition, the Vorarlberger pulled an elbow injury.

The 30-year-old had come to the penultimate jump hard to crash, but could then independently drive to the finish. The return transport to Austria is prepared (with medical assistance), should take place as soon as possible.

Schairer has suffered other injuries in the past, breaking five ribs in the 2010 X Games. He also had another crash in which he fractured a joint and tore four ligaments in his left shoulder in 2013, per his profile.

Schairer was just outside medal position at the time of the crash, standing in fourth place. The 30-year-old appeared in Vancouver and Sochi's Games as well.