When viewers watch the Winter Olympics, it can seem like the athletes are constantly putting
themselves in danger. These athletes race down icy mountains, jump from high distances and speed skate around frozen tracks. From a viewers perspective, many of these sports look extremely risky but the reality is much more complicated. While some Winter Olympic sports do have high injury rates, others that may seem terrifying can be safer than expected. Sports fails and crashes can change viewers opinions on how dangerous that sport is.
“Seeing Lindsey Vonn crash and tear her ACL when she was downhill skiing definitely changed my opinion on how dangerous the sport is,” Linganore High School (LHS) sophomore Sophie Shenton said.
One reason these sports appear so dangerous to viewers is the speed involved. Events like alpine skiing and bobsleigh can reach speeds of over 80 mph. Watching athletes race down steep slopes or icy tracks can make crashes and fails seem inevitable. Freestyle moguls is another very fast sport where athletes ski down a course with bumps, jumps and turns.
“I would say freestyle moguls [is one of the most dangerous sports] because of how fast they go, how difficult it is to go around the moguls and how steep they are,” LHS freshman Greyson Gouge said.
Another dangerous seeming sport is luge. In luge, athletes lie on a small sled and slide down a narrow ice track at very high speeds. Since competitors are so close to the ice and perform the sport with such little protection, many viewers assume that luge must be one of the most dangerous sports in the Winter Olympics.
Surprisingly, statistics show that luge and freestyle mogul are not among the most dangerous Winter Olympic sports. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that examined injuries during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver stated that luge and freestyle moguls had some of the lowest injury risks.
During the same study, researchers found that about 11% of athletes experienced some type of injury during the Olympic Games. The 2010 Winter Olympics had 2632 athletes attend so this means that a total of 290 athletes were injured. This is just the amount of athletes injured during the games while significantly more injuries actually occur during training.
“We should judge the [sports] risk on injury data because that is definite evidence of its danger,” LHS sophomore Emily Weedon said. “Sometimes commentators and television can make sports seem more scary or dangerous than they actually are, while data is more realistic.”
Sports that involve jumps and tricks tend to have the highest injury rates. Events such as freestyle skiing and snowboard cross require athletes to perform tricks mid-air or race close to other competitors. These conditions increase the chances of hard falls or collisions, among athletes.
These factors cause freestyle skiing and snowboard cross to have injury rates between 20% and 35% in some Olympic competitions. This means that in certain events, nearly one out of every three athletes could experience injury.
Another sport with higher injury risk is short-track speed skating. In this event, multiple skaters race around a tight indoor ice track at the same time. Since the athletes skate so close together, crashes are likely and can happen when one skater loses balance or bumps into another person.
Contact sports, such as ice hockey, carry more risk too. For example, this sport includes fast skating, body checking and collisions with the boards surrounding the rink. In addition to the higher-level competition and competitiveness of the Olympics, these physical elements increase the chances of injury during games.
Training also plays a role in risk levels for an individual sport. According to Olympic injury studies, many injuries actually occur during practice sessions rather than during the final competition. This is because athletes spend hours repeating difficult skills while preparing for their events.
Media coverage can affect how dangerous people believe a sport is as well. Television broadcasts often replay dramatic crashes or emphasize rare or gruesome accidents. When viewers see this happen, it creates a misconception of the inherent risk within a sport.
For example, major accidents in sliding sports such as luge sometimes gain worldwide attention. Although these tragedies are very rare, they shape the public’s perception of that sport.
In reality, Olympic organizers and sports federations such as the International Olympic Committee, constantly work to improve safety. Sports tracks, courses and equipment are regularly redesigned to reduce risks while allowing athletes to compete at the highest level. Helmets, padding and strict training rules also help protect athletes during both practice and competition.
These improvements cause the risk in many Winter Olympic sports to be more controlled that people realize. While injuries may still happen, athletes train for years to master their skills and learn how to compete not only safely but confidently.
Another part of what makes the Winter Olympics so exciting to watch is the athletes pushing the limits of speed and balance. Seeing someone jump and practically fly through the air in freestyle skiing or rapidly race down a track in luge can look terrifying, but those moments are also the result of years of training, preparation and careful safety planning.
Overall, Winter Olympic sports do involve real risks but the danger level is inaccurately judged. Some sports that look extremely dangerous on television actually have relatively low injury rates, while others with more jumps, speed and contact create greater risk for athletes.
The next time the Winter Olympics take place, remember that while the events may still look intense and high in risk… understanding the difference between perception and reality helps viewers better appreciate the skill and preparation behind these sports. Olympic athletes push their limits of human capabilities, but they also compete in carefully designed environments meant to keep them as safe as possible.
