The Winter Olympics is brutal. Even the most skilled of athletes risk major injury (or worse) when competing at an elite level.
Add nerves and incremental weather conditions and the risk of crashing is higher.
This Beijing Winter Olympics had its fair share of crashes, stacks and tumbles all caught on film for a world audience.
You don’t get these degrees of difficulties consistently across multiple sports disciplines in a summer Olympics. Our winter athletes are tough and made of steel (and rubber). For that alone they should all win medals.
Check out our gallery of the craziest stacks from the last two weeks.
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- Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland crashes while landing during the Women’s Freestyle Skiing Slopestyle final at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing municipality, China, 15 February 2022. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
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- Fanyu Kong of China crashes during Women’s Freestyle Skiing Aerials final at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing municipality, China, 14 February 2022. . EPA/diego azubel
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- Canada goalkeeper Eddie Pasquale is knocked down by teammate Alex Grant (20) during a preliminary round men’s hockey game against the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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- Park Ji-woo of South Korea and Elizaveta Golubeva of the Russian Olympic Committee crash during the women’s speedskating mass start semifinals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
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- Alex Vinatzer, of Italy, crashes in men’s slalom run 2 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
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- Ukraine’s Dmytro Kotovskyi crashes during the men’s aerials qualification at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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- Hungary’s Kamilla Kozuback falls as she competes during the women’s slopestyle qualifying at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
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- Great Britain’s Kathryn Thomson falls during the sixth heat of the Women’s 500 metres Short track Speed Skating at the Capital Indoor Stadium on day one of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium, Beijing, China. Picture date: Saturday February 5, 2022.. See PA Story OLYMPICS Short Track. Photo credit should read: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Use subject to restrictions. Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior consent from rights holder.
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- Australia’s Cooper Woods-Topalovic falls at the finish line as he competes in the men’s moguls qualifying at Genting Snow Park at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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- Mac Forehand of the USA falls in the Men’s Freestyle Skiing Big Air final at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing, China, 09 February 2022. EPA/JEROME FAVRE
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- Kazakhstan’s Akmarzhan Kalmurzayeva falls as she competes during the women’s aerials qualification at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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- Olga Polyuk of Ukraine falls while landing following her performance in the Women’s Freestyle Skiing Aerials qualification at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing municipality, China, 14 February 2022 EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL
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- Camille Cerutti of France falls during the Women’s Downhill race of the Alpine Skiing events of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Ski Centre Skiing, Beijing municipality, China, 15 February 2022. EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
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- Silvia Bertagna of Italy falls while landing in the Women’s Freestyle Skiing Big Air qualification at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing, China, 07 February 2022. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY
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- Christian Nummedal of Norway falls while landing in his third run in the Men’s Freestyle Skiing Big Air final at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing, China, 09 February 2022. EPA/JEROME FAVRE
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- Maggie Voisin of the US falls while landing in the Women’s Freestyle Skiing Big Air qualification at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing, China, 07 February 2022. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY
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- Nina O’Brien of United States falls during the women’s giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing.(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
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- Nina O’Brien of United States falls during the women’s giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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- Austin Kleba of the United States falls during his heat in the men’s speedskating 500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
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- Natalia Maliszewska (bottom) of Poland falls during the Women’s 1,000m quarter finals of the Short Track Speed Skating events at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, 11 February 2022. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG
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- Feb 15, 2022; Zhangjiakou, China; Dmytro Kotovskyi (UKR) falls in a mens aerials qualification run during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Genting Snow Park. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- Russian Olympic Committee’s Pavel Karnaukhov, right, falls after colliding with Sweden goalkeeper Lars Johansson during overtime in a men’s semifinal hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
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- BEIJING, CHINA – FEBRUARY 18, 2022: Pair skaters Michael Marinaro (L) and Kirsten Moore-Towers of Canada fall during their performance in the pairs short programme at the Capital Indoor Stadium at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Valery Sharifulin/TASS/Sipa USA
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- Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru falls during the women’s slopestyle finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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- Christopher Lillis of USA falls during Men’s Freestyle Skiing Aerials final at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Zhangjiakou, China, 16 February 2022. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
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- Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud falls during the women’s slopestyle finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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- BEIJING, CHINA – FEBRUARY 17, 2022: Figure skater Nicole Schott of Germany falls while performing in the women’s free skating programme at the Capital Indoor Stadium at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Valery Sharifulin/TASS/Sipa USA
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- Britain’s Gus Kenworthy crashes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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- Julia Taubitz, of Germany, crashes during the luge women’s singles run 2 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
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- New Zealand’s Ben Harrington crashes into the edge of the course during the men’s halfpipe qualification at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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- Nina O Brien of the USA crashes during the second run of the Women’s Giant Slalom race of the Alpine Skiing events of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Ski Centre Skiing, Beijing municipality, China, 07 February 2022. EPA/CHRISTIAN BRUNA
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- Sumire Kikuchi, of Japan, crashes in her quarterfinal of the women’s 500-meter during the short track speedskating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
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- Feb 7, 2022; Yanqing, China; Nina O’Brien (USA) crashes during the womens giant slalom run two during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Yanqing Alpine Skiing Centre. Mandatory Credit: Andrew P. Scott/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- Feb 18, 2022; Beijing, China; Aleksandra Boikova (ROC) and Dmitrii Kozlovskii (ROC) in the figure skating mixed pairs short program during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Capital Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
Brutal, right?
