Epic Winter Sport Fails

Olympic athletes are amazing. The dedication it takes to make it to the big dance is by very definition world class. Shaun White makes flying through the air look so easy you would swear he has wings. Lindsey Vonn is super human in the way she keeps coming back after injuries that would destroy most people. Sometimes, however, things just don’t work out as planned. Sometimes gravity is just as unforgiving as that fourth grade teacher that caught you peeking at Susie’s test. To help you take a break from the awesomeness displayed by this year’s Winter Olympic athletes, we’d like to bring you some of the most memorable winter sport fails.

Tatiana Totmianina - 2004

Tatiana Totmianina is a beautiful skater. She’s also won a few world championships. She truly has had an amazing career. October 23, 2004 was not her day however. Her partner, Maxim Marinin, stumbled a bit and did the unthinkable – dropped Tatiana face-first onto the ice. She suffered a concussion and had to spend the night in a hospital. She recovered and was ready to skate within a week. Maxim, however, took months to overcome the incident. He needed the help of a sports psychologist to return back to lifting Tatiana. (photo credit - re-simli-Blogspot) Video link below (fall at 2:10).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=105&v=YfX-sPtVCmg

British Bobsled Team – Vancouver 2010
The weather turned a bit cooler for Gillian Cooke at the beginning of her bobsled run in Vancouver. While it may have been a bit of a cheeky affair, she was a true competitor. You have to go to the video for this one. (picture credit - zimbio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=JCAxr-sfccw

Ulf Findeisen – 1986

If you have ever thought ski jumping was easy, it isn’t. The pros just make it look easy. At the Winter Championships in 1986 there was something in the air. They had several incredible falls that day, but this one by Ulf Findeisen was awful (he’s the guy on the right in picture). He lived and retired in 1990. We couldn’t find out where he ended up, so if you ever read this Ulf, please drop us a line. (picture credit - Wikipedia)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=D0TJYx6b-OI

Lindsey Vonn - 2017
Lindsey is the goddess of US woman’s skiing. The fact that she is competing this year after this fall in 2017 is just amazing. She will always be our hero. And Lindsey, if you ever read this, several of the guys on our staff are single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvTmZ_ly9Zw

Shaun White – Sochi 2014

First, let’s get this out – Shaun White is a god. We don’t have his ManScore recorded yet, but let’s just assume it’s a perfect 1,000. His comeback win this past Wednesday at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang was nothing short of epic. He is the greatest snowboarder the world has ever seen. But if you need a little motivation, remember that even the great one has had falls he had to get up from. After finishing fourth in Sochi, everybody thought his Olympic career was done. He just proved everybody wrong. Here’s to 2022!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrRuOIydqTA

But ignore that one, and watch his epic run from this year!