No matter what sport you play, the risk of injury is always there. Perhaps it can even be said that this is part of the thrill in participating. Just take a look on youtube, type in sport crashes and you will get an endless list of people crashing.
I want to focus on skiing and have a look at the biggest crashes of professionals in skiing. Recently Lindsey Vonn had a huge crash at the World championships where she broke her shin leg. A huge shock for womens skiing as Lindsey was one of the eye-catchers.
Crashes in skiing happen all the time. Whether they happen in the racing world cup, freestyle competition or in the free untouched nature of the off piste. Thanks to todays technology we can watch most of the crashes on video back and pray it will never happen to any of us.
I have listed the 5 biggest ski crashes in the last 15 years and I’m excited to hear if you agree or think differently than me.
Number 5. Matthias Lanzinger
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| Matthias Lanzinger |
Let’s start with the racing world cup. Taken in the last 5 years we have seen multiple skiers breaking their legs and other bones.
On the 2nd of March 2012 Austrian alpine skier Matthias Lanzinger was involved in a severe crash in his run. Due to a lack of immediate medical attention, there was no helicopter available straight away so they had to amputate the lower part of his left leg. Nowadays Matthias is back on skis again with his protege.
Number 4. Nik Zoricic
Another discipline in skiing is the ski cross. In the skicross 4 skiers ski down at the same time and who ever crosses the finish line first wins. The parcour of this race is known for a lot of turns and jumps which can cause dangerous situation. These dangerous situations sometimes result in heavy injuries and unfortunately sometimes death.
Nik Zoricic ,29 years old, a Canadian ski-cross athlete who died in march of last year when landing wrongly after a high jump in the fences next to the parcour. Reanimation had no influence and the athlete died.
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| Nick Zoricic |
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| His fatal landing |
Number 3. Valery Kobelev
The biggest crash in ski jumping involved the Russian Valery Kobelev. The skier had never had a better result than 21st place in the overall world cup but he is best known for his crash in Planica in 1999.
After take off he lost his balance in the air and crashed head first with 104.7 km/h on the slope and rolled down the rest of the slope at a very high speed… unconscious.
Kobelev was held in an induced coma for several months but made his return 1 year later in the World Cup.
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| Kobelev, Head first! |
Number 2. Jamie Pierre
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| From this perspective, even I would do it |
Free ride skier Jamie Pierre shocked the ski world when he jumped deliberately 75 meters from a cliff. Lucky for Jamie, the only injury he took home from the jump was a bleeding lip. He got this 'injury' when his partner tried to shovel him out of the snow.
Jamie Pierre was the undisputed record holder of the highest cliff jump in the world and not many thought, including Jamie himself, that someone would brake his record. Which brings us to the number 1 on my list...
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| Jamie, on his way down |
Number 1. Fred Syversen
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| Fred, seconds before his drop |
The number 1 on my list is Norwegian Free-rider Sven Suyversen. He is ‘unofficially’ the world record holder of the highest cliff drop. The man must have had a lot off angels on his shoulder when he survived the 107 meter drop from a cliff. He was busy shooting a ski film when right before the last jump (the supposed highlight) things went very wrong. He went 'straight' instead of going 'left'. Right before his jump his estimated speed was about 80km/h and when he landed he was buried 2.5 meters under a pack of snow. When he was found the man was unconscious but as soon as he woke up he was able to ski again. Tests later showed he had few damages to his liver. Doctors told him to take it easy for a few weeks. I consider Fred Suyversen one of the luckiest men on earth.
It is of course harsh to say which crash was the most impressive or incredible, as some people lost their lives and some parts of their body.
An important point that I want to make in this weeks blog is about safety. Chances will be small that people who ski maybe 1 or 2 weeks a year will end up in these kinds off situations. However, there are precautions we can take to prevent an injury in case we will end up in a crash.
First things first: a helmet. When you go skiing or snowboarding, always make sure you wear a helmet. Wearing a helmet is the number 1 safety measure plus it keeps your head nice and toasty.
A second important thing to wear is a back protector. This protecter, like the name says, covers your back. More and more people are wearing one and it can prevent you from serious injuries.
Skiing is a popular sport since many years and it's still a growing one. Which is great, however this also means the risks of injuries are growing. Most people ski 1,2 or perhaps 3 weeks a year, and when this time arrives they are overly excited to get to the top of the mountain and enjoy the slopes. People travel through the night to get this extra day of skiing and spent as much time on the slopes as possible. Statistics have shown however that most accidents happen on the first day, which all relates to fatigue. People have driven through the night, they are tired, and want to hit the slopes as soon as possible. In addition to that: there are more and more people on the slopes which means we have to watch out for ourselves and for others. Don’t ski as if you’re alone on the slope. Watch out for your fellow skiers and snowboarders and don’t lose your head. When traversing the slope always make sure to look up. Never stop in the middle of the slope and be sure to ski in a straight line.
With just a few precautions you can have a safe and very fun time on the mountains and come back in 1 piece.
Best of all, take a professional ski teacher with you form starter to experienced, ok, it will cost you money, but save you on a lot of safety issues cause you are not on your own, you are two!
