SAN SICARIO, Italy — American gold medal contender Lindsey Kildow crashed on her downhill training run and was taken down the mountain on a stretcher Monday, moments after defending Olympic champion Carole Montillet-Carles was carried off.

The 21-year-old Kildow lost control midway through the run when her left ski slid out as she began to turn right around a gate on a flat stretch. She immediately went into an awkward split with her right knee buckling and slamming against the ground.

Her momentum carried her into the air for about 15 feet and she landed on her back, slammed her head and slid to a stop. Kildow was heaving with pain as medical personnel rushed to her aid, her legs splayed awkwardly.

At the bottom of the course, spectators and skiers who saw it on a large video screen gasped. Renate Goetschl of Austria grabbed her head and turned away.

Kildow was put on a toboggan taken by helicopter to a hospital in Turin, the games host city about 50 miles down the Alps, according to Pascale Vogeli, press manager for the downhill venue. The extent of her injuries was not immediately known, and two representatives of the U.S. Ski Team and the a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee could not be reached for comment.

Kildow won two downhills on the World Cup this year and was ranked No. 2 on the circuit.

Her crash happened just eight skiers after Montillet-Carles of France lost control during a jump midway through her run and slammed into the protective fencing. She landed on her back and her head hit the snow.

Montillet-Carles, 32, appeared to be conscious, though no further details of her condition were immediately available.

Later in the afternoon a third racer, Allison Forsyth of Canada, crashed and also had to be taken off on a toboggan.

American medal hopeful Julia Mancuso, who waited near the start box as the next skier scheduled after Kildow, said the course was similar to the first training runs on Sunday.

"There's just a lot of rolls, anything can happen," Mancuso said. "You can come off a jump, catch an edge and be a little unlucky."