How dangerous are the Winter Olympics? Why injuries are more common – and serious – than at the Summer Games
- Beijing 2022 is set for its fair share of slips and collisions, with competitors going at higher speeds and more reliant on weather conditions
- Twelve per cent of athletes incurred at least one injury in Pyeongchang, with ligament tears and fractures the norm as opposed to bruises and sprains
High-speed collisions, spectacular spills and frightening falls – as an international event full of extreme sports, it’s no wonder the Winter Olympics has seen its fair share of big injuries.
The 2018 Pyeongchang Games witnessed several hair-raising incidents, with some events made even riskier on days affected by severe weather.
British snowboarder Aimee Fuller admitted she was “lucky to be in one piece” after crashing on her final jump during the women’s snowboard slopestyle in South Korea, with intense gusts making things much more dangerous.
The 16-year-old Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka also experienced a scary fall. He crashed down on the lip of the half-pipe, and was carried out on a stretcher, but fortunately did not suffer any major injuries.
Short-track speedskating is also no stranger to slips and collisions. China’s Han Tianyu was upended on the ice during the men’s 1,500m event, while Sandor Liu Shaolin of Hungary also took a fall between France’s Thibaut Fauconnet and USA’s John-Henry Krueger in a separate heat.
So which sports are most dangerous?
