Anchorage snowboarder Rosie Mancari’s Olympics end with training accident

Rosie Mancari's Winter Olympics are over, but the Anchorage snowboarder is delaying surgery on two injured ankles so she can cheer on her teammates in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Mancari injured both Achilles tendons Monday while training for snowboardcross at Phoenix Park, her mother said Tuesday while tending to Mancari in the Athletes Village.

"She snapped both of her Achilles," Angel Mancari said by cellphone. "She fell and she was sliding downhill on her belly, feet first, and the front edge of the board caught the snow."

Rosie, 24 and a first-time Olympian, was taken to a hospital and was treated and released, said Tom Kelly, vice president of communications for U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

Mancari was training for Thursday's women's snowboardcross, an event that puts six riders on a high-speed downhill course filled with jumps, sharp corners and banked turns.

The men will compete on Wednesday, and Rosie intends on being there to watch, despite walking boots on both feet.

"She wants to stay and cheer on her teammates, so we're going to try to pull her in a sled to the venue tomorrow," Angel Mancari said.

[Alaska snowboarders Mancari, Stassel make Olympic team]

After the snowboardcross competition wraps up, mother and daughter will head to Vail, Colorado, where Rosie will have surgery on both ankles, her mother said.

"She's in really good spirits," Angel Mancari said. "She's a little frustrated, but what can you do? I'm just happy I'm here, and I'm so happy it's not life-threatening."

Injuries are common for snowboardcross. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, 34 percent of the snowboardcross racers suffered injuries, according to an analysis of injuries reported during the Games. 

Two other women were injured during Monday's training, Angel Mancari said.