US skier Stacey Cook crashes in downhill training

Stacey Cook was released from a clinic with pain and stiffness but no major injuries hours after crashing during the opening women's Olympic downhill training run Thursday.

"Not the ideal way to start the Olympics," Cook said.

X-rays and a CT scan showed no damage, U.S. Olympic team chief medical officer Jim Moeller said.

Cook, 25, had trouble landing a jump on the upper section of the course and shifted her weight backward. She slammed into the safety netting at full speed but managed to get up and stand under her own power.

She then sat down and was tended to by medical staff, before being flown by helicopter to the clinic for tests.

Cook's neck, back, left leg above the knee and hip flexor "are all really sore," she said, "but it's all muscle _ like, everything's OK _ and I can live through that."

Cook, participating in her second Winter Games, was one of two racers who started training runs before the session was canceled because of thick fog and low visibility.

She wasn't immediately ruled out for Friday's training run.

"We'll make that decision in the morning. She's going to be sore, that's for sure. But she's fine. There's no major injury," U.S. Ski Team women's coach Jim Tracy said. "She smacked her head. She smacked everything. She's lucky she didn't blow her knee out."

Cook said: "I'll be back out there."

After the session was canceled, the race jury took a look at the jump where Cook fell to see whether it was unsafe and should be made smaller.

"The other racer who came down, (Italy's Lucia) Recchia, had no problem there, and all the forerunners also came through fine, but the jury is considering shaving it down," women's race director Atle Skaardal said.

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this report.