Thrills and spills at Pyeongchang Olympics

Sometimes the Olympics feature soaring moments of glory. Other times, athletes come crashing to the ground.

A missed step can mean the end of years of preparations. Sometimes competitors hit walls, sometimes they crash into each other, and sometimes they wind up face first in the snow.

Here's a look at some of the more earthbound moments from the Pyeongchang Olympics: 

Tess Ledeux, of France, crashes during the women's slopestyle qualifying at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Resi Stiegler, of the United States, gets hung up in the gate during the first run of the women's slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Laura Peel, of Australia, crashes during the women's freestyle aerial final at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia falls while performing in the men's free figure skating final in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Shoma Uno of Japan falls during the men's free figure skating final in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Yaroslav Paniot of Ukraine falls while performing in the men's short program figure skating in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Sarah Hoefflin, of Switzerland, crashes during the women's slopestyle finals at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Ayana Zholdas, of Kazakhstan, crashes during the women's aerials qualifying at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Joel Lundqvist (20), of Sweden, and Yasin Ehliz (42), of Germany, collide during the third period of a preliminary round men's hockey game at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea. Sweden won 1-0. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Niklas Mattsson, of Sweden, crashes during the men's slopestyle qualifying at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jussi Penttala, of Finland, crashes during the men's moguls qualifying at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Danielle Scott, of Australia, crashes during the women's freestyle aerial final at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Maddie Mastro, of the United States, reacts after crashing during the women's halfpipe finals at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Alla Tsuper, of Belarus, crashes during the women's freestyle aerial final at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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This gallery was curated by AP photo editors Peter Morgan and Alyssa Goodman in Pyeongchang, South Korea. 

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