By Miranda Wang
The 26-year-old Olympic athlete took to social media to share footage of the terrifying incident.
In the video, Carlson can be seen drawing closer to the edge of the 22-metre high platform. Right after she jumps, she appears to slip on the board and fall off the platform. In the few seconds she鈥檚 airborne, Carlson manages to rotate her body and land feet-first. Immediately after she lands, onlookers can be seen rushing to her side.
鈥淪cariest moment of my life鈥,鈥 she wrote in her caption.
鈥淚t breaks my heart to announce that I will not be competing in the second stop of the @redbullcliffdiving World Series here in Italy as I鈥檝e suffered a really scary accident. One of my nightmares came true.
鈥淔irst of all I am so grateful to be okay. I never imagined in my life that I would ever slip off of a high diving platform but it happened.
鈥淚鈥檓 SHOCKED at my reflex skills to find my feet like a cat and be okay. Unfortunately on the takeoff I got a massive bruise on my foot. I considered powering through and diving on it but it just wasn鈥檛 the right choice for my health.
鈥淭hank you to everyone in advance for your kind words, I am okay. Italy, I鈥檓 so glad I still got a few beautiful dives in xoxo, until next time, Ciao.鈥
People online were shocked to see the footage.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 scary as sh*t. I felt anxiety just watching the video,鈥 one person commented.
鈥淢y stomach sank reading this鈥︹ said another.
鈥淪uper impressive save. Especially considering the literal life and death stakes. Really hope she is able to continue competing, I could easily see something like this being enough of a mental strain to end a career,鈥 commented another.
Just one day after her initial announcement, Carlson took to social media again to share a different angle of the fall. It shows the exact moment her foot slipped on the platform, and in slow-motion, captures the horrifying few seconds she had to correct her form.
鈥淧SA: Always measure your run up correctly,鈥 she warned in her caption.
鈥淭his new angle of my near death experience is insane. The Slomo and the song is so dramatic I鈥檓 so sorry. I had to.
鈥淭his angle really helped me understand that my toes were already going to be past the platform when I landed because I didn鈥檛 measure my run up with 100% power. And then when I went for the dive I gave it 200% power.
鈥淥verall, I鈥檓 okay and I will definitely learn from this. So so so proud of the other girls who competed into the big waves today! Can鈥檛 wait to be back up there with you.鈥