Winter Olympic athletes reveal how they fear for their lives and battle depression due to danger

Few jokes will be cracked in the changing room ahead of the bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics.

And it’s not just because the athletes are focused on the technical requirements involved in rattling down an ice track at 90mph. It is because they are scared.

They may look as cool as ice on the screen. But they feel the fear.

‘It really is terrifying,’ Bex Wilson, who competed in the bobsleigh for Great Britain at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi, told Sportmail. ‘It is as nerve-racking as it looks. You reach speeds of 90mph and you can only brake at the end.’

Winter Olympians have every reason to be fearful. One in eight suffer injury at the Games.

At PyeongChang in 2018 there were 17 fractures, five dislocations and five concussions, as well as ruptured ligaments and tendons. Since the Games began in 1924, four people have died.

Winter Olympian Bex Wilson admits that the two-man bobsleigh is a ‘terrifying’ experience

Wilson was the brakewoman in the bobsleigh, behind driver Paula Walker, at Sochi 2014

Wilson was the brakewoman in the bobsleigh, behind driver Paula Walker, at Sochi 2014

German pair of Nico Walther and Christian Poser crashed on the final bend at PyeongChang

German pair of Nico Walther and Christian Poser crashed on the final bend at PyeongChang

Wilson never planned to be in the bobsleigh. She was a talented sprinter, representing England throughout the age groups, but when she was told at 17 that she may not make it to an Olympics to represent GB in her chosen sport, the determined Mancunian looked for another route to fulfil her dreams.

She found the two-woman bob, which relies on a powerful runner to propel the vehicle down the track.

‘I question why I ever did it to be honest,’ joked Wilson, 30, who now plays Rugby League for Warrington and manages a charity called, the Diane Modahl Sports Foundation, supporting young people from disadvantaged areas of Greater Manchester.

‘It was just that I told everyone when I was eight that I was going to the Olympics.’

Wilson representing  Britain in 2014 in Sochi

Wilson representing  Britain in 2014 in Sochi

The one-mile bobsleigh course at Beijing, located at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre, 45 miles from the capital, presents a particular challenge. For the first time, it includes a 360 degree turn among its 16 curves.

Wilson says the atmosphere ahead of a race depends on the severity of the track, and technical runs, like Beijing, put people on edge. She was struck by the cold fear she found at the most challenging tracks.

‘Everyone knows which are the most dangerous and the fastest and at those there is a different atmosphere. The risk of crashing is much higher,’ she said.

For example, at the track in Vancouver, Canada, which hosted the 2010 Games, there is a corner called Fifty-Fifty, because there is only a 50/50 chance of getting round.

‘A lot of drivers pace, eyes closed [in the changing rooms]. Others are sat with their legs shaking. The mental aspect is important in extreme spots. You need courage.

Britain's Rupert Staudinger competes in men's single race during the FIL Luge World Cup, part of a 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games test event, at the Yanqing National Sliding Center

Britain’s Rupert Staudinger competes in men’s single race during the FIL Luge World Cup, part of a 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games test event, at the Yanqing National Sliding Center 

The German team watched on in horror at the 2018 Games as their bobsleigh rivals crashed

The German team watched on in horror at the 2018 Games as their bobsleigh rivals crashed

WINTER OLYMPICS’ FOUR DEATHS 

Four Winter Olympians have died preparing for their events at the host venues, since the Games began in 1924.

The Innsbruck Games, in Austria, in 1964 was struck by two tragedies.

Australian skier Ross Milne died after he hit a tree at 60mph during a practice run on January 25, 1964. He was nineteen years old.

It was initially suggested he lacked the experience to compete at an elite level, but this claim was refuted. The suggestion that racers from Australia and New Zealand should not compete in Europe gave Milne’s younger brother, Malcom, the motivation to prove the critics wrong and he won a World Cup downhill race in December 1969, at Val-d’Isère, France.

Four days earlier, Polish-born British luge racer, Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki, crashed during practice on January 21. Skrzypecki, 59, a former RAF pilot, died the following day in the operating theatre.

It was the first year the luge had featured in the Games.

More recently, Swiss speed skater, Nicolas Bochatay, died on the morning of his event final at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

Bochatay, 27, was a carpenter, who was married with two children. He was skiing on the morning of his race with other speed skaters as they prepared for the final. Bochatay collided with a snowcat vehicle as he flew over a hump, landing in front of the snowcat and was killed instantly. 

In 2010, Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, died after an horrific accident on his final training run and on the last turn. He lost control of the sled and was thrown over the track wall colliding with a metal pole at 89.2 mph.

The accident, which was televised, happened on February 12, the day of the opening ceremony. After the Games, the luge track at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Canada was found to be running faster than its design planned for, with racers reaching 95mph. 

Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died aged 21 at the 2010 Games in Whistler

Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died aged 21 at the 2010 Games in Whistler

‘If someone crashes before you go you just have to get on that track and do what you know you can do.’

Once one of the most dangerous sports at the Winter Games, improvements in the sleds and equipment have thankfully made bobsleigh much safer. Remarkably, there were no serious injuries last time around.

The German pair of Nico Walther and Christian Poser dominated the opening heats of the two-man bobsleigh in PyeongChang, but they spectacularly crashed at the finish line of their second heat, taking the final curve so quickly that their sled overturned with their helmets scraping along the wall of the ice track at the Olympic Sliding Centre.

They were unhurt and still qualified in first place. 

At PyeongChang the riskiest sports were Ski Half-Pipe, Snowboard Cross and Ski Cross, with one in four competitors injured. For serious injuries, the luge was also high risk, with two racers suffering fractures in South Korea, and the sport has previously accounted for half of the deaths at the Winter Games. There is little margin for error.

British luger, Rupert Staudinger, describes his job as trying to slide down an ice track, on a tiny toboggan, in a skin-tight race suit as fast as possible. There is not much protection.

Australia's Nicole Parks crashed at the finish of the moguls slope preparing for Sochi 2014

Australia’s Nicole Parks crashed at the finish of the moguls slope preparing for Sochi 2014

Austrian skier Hermann Maier suffered a spectacular crash at the Winter Olympics in 1998

Austrian skier Hermann Maier suffered a spectacular crash at the Winter Olympics in 1998 

Participants drop the equivalent of 30 storeys, with no brake, lying face up and feet first at 90mph.

They launch themselves by pulling hard on fixed handles positioned at the top of the run.

‘When I am at the handles at the top of the track, when I don’t know if my body can physically do it, that is when the fear is in my mind,’ said Emily Sweeney, 28, a luger for the US Olympic Team. ‘That is when I am scared.

Sweeney only started to feel afraid after a catastrophic crash during her last run at the PyeongChang Olympics.

She suffered a fractured neck and back after her sled spun round halfway down the course and she hammered into the wall of the track, backwards.

‘I was fighting, fighting,’ recalled Sweeney, describing the moment her sled began to slide out of control. ‘As soon as I realised, hey, I have no control at this moment, I knew I just had to ride it out…

Emily Sweeney suffered a fractured neck and back competing for the USA in PyeongChang

Emily Sweeney suffered a fractured neck and back competing for the USA in PyeongChang

The chart shows Ski Half-pipe, Snowboard Cross, Ski Cross and Snowboard Slopestyle were the most dangerous sports at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Data analysed by Torbjorn Soligard et al

The chart shows Ski Half-pipe, Snowboard Cross, Ski Cross and Snowboard Slopestyle were the most dangerous sports at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Data analysed by Torbjorn Soligard et al

‘Your body slows everything down. It was very, very slow from my perspective. And so, I knew, “lift your head before you hit”.

‘I saved my head; I broke my neck and my back.’

As well as her physical injuries, the accident had a profound effect on Sweeney’s mental health, leaving her depressed and fearful.

‘After that I had fear,’ Sweeney, who remarkably will race again for the US in Beijing, told Olympic.com. ‘I had never experienced that before and pushing past fear is really challenging.’

The fact that some Olympians feel fear makes their participation and achievements all the more impressive. Sweeney was racing again within a year of her accident and took bronze in a World Cup meeting.

It takes courage to embark on something that is dangerous, but it is truly courageous if it involves overcoming fear to do it.

Sweeney had to learn to overcome fears to go back on the track and regain an Olympic place

Sweeney had to learn to overcome fears to go back on the track and regain an Olympic place

The luge track at Beijing has already claimed one victim, during a test event last year. Mateusz Sochowicz, 25, hit a barrier at 35mph, sustaining several fractures, cuts and bruises and required surgery. 

Many racers have to learn how to conquer their insecurities.

The International Olympic Association interviewed some young athletes about their attitude to fear ahead of the Youth Olympics at Lausanne in Switzerland in 2020.

‘If anyone says they’re not scared they’re lying,’ said luge competitor, Florian Tanzer from Austria.

‘You have to use the fear to motivate yourself. You should be scared. You should have respect. Of course, you’re a bit nervous that something might go wrong, but you just have to focus so it doesn’t go wrong. Most of the time it works.’

Remarkably, given the obvious dangers associated with Winter Olympic sports, there have been no deaths in competition, but four Olympians have lost their lives in their final preparations at the Games’ venues.

Seamus O'Connor of Ireland crashed out in the Snowboard Men's Halfpipe at Sochi 2014

Seamus O’Connor of Ireland crashed out in the Snowboard Men’s Halfpipe at Sochi 2014

One of them was Polish-born British luge racer, Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki, who crashed during practice on January 21, 1964 at Innsbruck, Austria, just over a week before the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

The former RAF pilot suffered multiple fractures, including to his skull and pelvis. He died aged 59, the following day in the operating theatre. Three days later another competitor, Australian, Ross Milne, died in practice for his downhill ski run. [See panel].

It is tempting to think the Olympics have become more dangerous with the introduction of extreme sports, with ‘big air’, faster speeds, and direct competition, in disciplines like Ski Aerials, Slopestyle, Half Pipes, Snowboard Cross and Ski Cross.

There is no doubt, these sports are dangerous and the athletes are brave. In PyeongChang, they accounted for the most injuries. Ten competitors suffered broken bones in ski cross, snowboard cross and snowboard slopestyle alone; three joints were dislocated in Snowboard Slopestyle and there was a spinal injury in Ski Cross, to name a few.

British speed skater Elise Christie was injured crashing out of the 1,500m at PyeongChang

British speed skater Elise Christie was injured crashing out of the 1,500m at PyeongChang

Many competitors were battered and bruised in training or before they even reached South Korea.

Australian snowboarder Jessica Rich competed just a month after tearing her ACL, and had previously broken her back, and twice broken her collarbone.

Cam Bolton competed in the Snowboard Cross with a suspected broken wrist, while Jarryd Hughes, who won silver, has had five knee operations over the course of his career.

British speed skater Elise Christie was injured when she crashed out of the 1,500m and snowboarder Katie Ormerod broke her heel during training.

And the traditional sports like alpine skiing still bring risk. One of the Olympics’ most famous crashes involved Austrian champion skier Hermann Maier, who flew from the downhill course at the 1998 Games in Nagano.

Incredibly, Maier, nicknamed the Herminator because of his relentless success, walked away from the accident, despite landing on his head, and he won gold medals in the Giant Slalom and Super G a few days later.

Austrian Maier was a champion skier but also known for a spectacular crash in 1998

Austrian Maier was a champion skier but also known for a spectacular crash in 1998

However, the proportion of people hurt at the Winter Olympic Games overall has not changed significantly since detailed data was collected from 2010. At those Games in Vancouver, 11 per cent of Olympians suffered injury, compared to 12 per cent in both Sochi and 12.6 per cent in PyeongChang.

The Winter Olympics is an occasion for the courageous… or the crazy.

‘I don’t have any fear,’ Slovenian Martin Krizaj, who competes in the Giant Slalom, told Olympic.com.

‘I am carefree. I am not afraid of anything. Well, when it comes to skiing.’

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