American freestyle skier Heidi Kloser out with broken leg

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — American Heidi Kloser had to pull out of the Olympics after injuring her right leg during a training run before moguls qualifying.

Kloser tore knee ligaments and broke her femur following a crash Thursday night, only moments before she was supposed to head to the starting gate.

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Heidi Kloser is stretchered off the course Thursday after crashing in a warmup run before qualifying in the women’s moguls at the Rosa Kutor Exreme Park ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. The Associated Press

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Kloser’s father, Mike, posting on his Facebook page, said Heidi asked him if he still considered her an Olympian even though she didn’t make it to the starting line in her first games.

“We said, of course she is,” Mike Kloser wrote.

The 21-year-old Kloser was fourth in the World Cup standings coming into the Olympics.

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