Broken legs, skier’s thumb and ‘sled head’: just some of the injuries risked by Winter Olympians
The sports featured at the Winter Olympics defy gravity and physics. Many competitors move at breakneck speeds down steep, snowy inclines or careen across icy surfaces in a bid to set world records and earn their place on the podium.
But as exciting as these events are for spectators, they also place competitors at serious risk of injury. This is something we have been reminded of after US alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn fractured her leg during a horror crash just seconds into her downhill run in the Milan Cortina games.
Of course, this isn’t the first time a Winter Olympian has suffered injury at the Games. Four athletes have died during Winter Olympic events or in preparation for them – most recently, Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died after colliding with a wall during a training run at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
But of the 15 sports disciplines featured at this year’s Winter Olympics, a few stand out in terms of their riskiness to competitors:
Skiing and snowboarding
Of the snow-based events, skiing and snowboarding appear to be the most risky.
In alpine (downhill) skiing, there’s a 75% risk of professional athletes suffering at least one injury per season. And the majority of these are trauma injuries from a fall or collision. Male alpine skiers are at greater risk of overall injury and upper-body injuries, while women are a greater risk of knee injuries.
Video analysis of alpine skiing injuries shows that almost all occur when the skier is turning or landing from a jump. When you consider Olympic athletes are on the edge of doing what is possible, this is hardly surprising.
Turning and landing also put the knees into a particularly vulnerable position. The forces placed on them can be the equivalent of bearing up to three times a skier’s bodyweight.
This is one of the reasons why knee ligament injuries are common in skiing. Male skiers are at greater risk of medial collateral ligament injuries – a ligament that plays a key role in stabilising the knee. The same study showed that female skiers are almost three times more likely to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. This ligament plays a key role in standing and bending the knee.
If you were to look at 100 skiers in a single season, around eight female skiers will experience a severe ACL injury. Vonn had ruptured her ACL just days before competing in these Winter Olympics, illustrating just how harsh the sport can be.
Finger, hand and wrist injuries are common too. These typically happen during falls – either from crashing into an object or while trying to break a fall. Falling with a ski-pole in hand can cause a specific injury known as “skier’s thumb”. This causes damage to the ligament that helps stabilise the thumb.
While finger injuries are an inconvenience, they certainly don’t mean that athletes can’t continue to compete. The Italian skier Sofia Goggia proved this in 2022 when she broke multiple fingers during an event, had surgery overnight, then returned to the slopes the next day.
Read more: Three common injuries skiers should watch out for this season
Snowboarding also accounts for a large number of injuries – including from falling on outstretched arms, as well as spinal and head injuries. As snowboarding events become more extreme, with athletes performing death-defying tricks and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, this could result in even more injuries per season.
Sledding
Of all the risky winter events performed on ice, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton all rank near the top in terms of injury risk.
“Sled head” is the aptly named condition used to describe the catalogue of symptoms affecting athletes competing in these sports. These include headaches, dizziness and brain fog arising from the multiple small impacts the head receives as athletes rattle down a track.
Approximately 13–15% of athletes in sledding sports also report experiencing concussion at a high-level competition such as the Olympics.
Due to the explosive start needed in sled events, particularly bobsleigh, muscle and tendon tears and ruptures can be common. This creates a problem for bobsledders because the event requires an explosive start, placing the legs’ large hamstring and quadriceps muscles under a lot of pressure. Similar injuries are also seen in sprinters.
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is far less extreme that its downhill counterparts, but still results in plenty of injuries.
The most common are repetitive strain and overuse injuries, such as shin splints, damaged knee ligaments and stress fractures in the feet. It’s estimated that for every 1,000 hours of cross-country skiing an athlete does, they will sustain an average of around four injuries.
Then there’s also the risk of frostbite, even on the most intimate parts of an athlete’s anatomy – as the Finn Remi Lindholm found out in Beijing in 2022.
Curling
When we think of extreme winter sports, we certainly don’t think of curling. Predictably, curlers suffer far fewer serious injuries than most other winter sport competitors.
But injuries from overuse are common. These are particularly caused by being in the “tuck” position used to deliver the curling stone, since the knee has to flex beyond 90 degrees.
Similar issues arise in the spine and the shoulder from the frantic sweeping of the ice – with team sweepers typically covering over 1km per match. Interestingly, men are more likely to get injured in curling than women, although the reason isn’t clear.
Physical injuries aren’t the only risk to athletes. Over 42% of athletes competing at the Winter Olympics report suffering from a respiratory illness. This can affect their balance, which may increase the risk of falls and sustaining injury.
So, as you watch the athletes doing their thing, it’s worth remembering they may be hiding all sorts of aches and pains – and may be one slip or fall from a season- or career-halting injury.
Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.