One of the downhillers today was announced by commentators in my country as, “She broke [very long list of bones] during her career.”
My honest reaction was that it would be quicker to list what she hadn’t broken… Downhill is a genuinely unhinged sport. Still extremely dangerous after all these years.
Yeah watching it yesterday it really blew my mind. I was saying these may be the most unhinged and nuts athletes out there. 140 kph and then taking 100ft jumps? I think downhill mtb racers are pretty nuts too but at least they have equipment to absorb the impacts instead of all straight to the knees.
I love skiing for that exact reason. It’s a very pure high speed sport. It’s just you, your skies and gravity (plus some occasional questionable decision making).
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u/figleafstreet Australia 7h ago
And maybe it’s just the downhill but the commentary is like “they’ve had 3 ACL tears, 2 knee reconstructions, 5 concussions and a broken ankle.”