Competition in sports to reach the Olympic level by its very nature involves risk. But some Olympic sports have more risks than others, resulting in more athletes suffering sprains, concussions, broken bones and even more serious injuries. Here, we take a look at the 8 most dangerous sports at the Summer Olympics.
Pushing the body to the limits of human performance always leads to injury, even at the Olympics. The number of injuries suffered by athletes participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was 1,361, an average of 128.8 injuries per 1,000 athletes. This rate is significantly higher than the 96.1 per 1,000 at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. The list of sports-related injuries is long. There is nothing surprising about this phenomenon.
Reaching the Olympic level of competition is inherently risky. But some sports are riskier than others, resulting in more athletes suffering sprains, concussions, broken bones and even more serious injuries. We’ve listed the most dangerous sports at the Summer Olympics.
Here are the eight most dangerous sports at the Summer Olympics, according to Wired, a magazine affiliated with Condé Nast Press, a major U.S. newspaper group.
Boxing
Boxing is one of the riskiest sports at the Olympics, although men have stopped wearing helmets since Rio 2016. Although the risk of injury in boxing is relatively low, with the exception of bruises and cuts, boxers must worry about the long-term effects of its consequences.
A blow to the jaw can cause a boxer’s head to spin suddenly and result in a concussion. Even sub-concussive blows can increase the risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (a degenerative brain disease).
Cycling
Olympic cycling consists of four main disciplines: indoor track cycling, on-road racing, mountain cross-country cycling, and freestyle pannier BMX, each of which carries more risk than the last.
Freestyle BMX, in which competitors make jumps and turns on a dirt track, has the highest rate of injury, but Rio 2016 was especially scary for road cyclists. In fact, the 240-kilometer course was lined with cobblestones on both sides, and the steep descent at the end led to multiple broken bones and other serious injuries.
High altitude springboard diving
Most divers jump well above the diving board and then enter the water with amazing grace. But when things go wrong, it can get really bad.
A missed approach maneuver or a failed dive increases the risk of hitting the diving board or platform, as Greg Louganis did in 1988. Additionally, an overhead leap dive increases the risk of water impact injuries. A diver jumps from the top of a 10-meter diving board and enters the water at nearly 56 kilometers per hour. At this speed, the water is more like a solid than a liquid on impact.
Equestrian competition
The technical horseback riding event is one of the most dangerous events in the Olympic Games, as competitors ride animals weighing approximately 550 kilograms at speeds sometimes exceeding 32 kilometers per hour.
The slightest miscalculation in equestrian competition can result in a rider ejecting, a horse tripping or stopping a jump. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) found that between 2005 and 2010, five out of every 100 riders fell. Competitors now wear emergency undershirts that expand on impact to protect them from being crushed by their mounts, which has helped to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries from a rate of 1 in 14,000 riders to 1 in 43,000.
Pole vaulting
Frankly, pole vaulting is incredibly dangerous: competitors take a huge, flexible pole, run down a runway at full speed, and use the pole to catapult themselves nearly 20 feet into the air.
A staggering number of catastrophic head injuries come to mind (the breaking of the pole during bending is only one of them). Overall, the rate of serious injury from pole breakage is 2%, which results in spinal, pelvic, and head injuries.
Soccer
Surprised to see soccer on this list? More than two-thirds of soccer players who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics were injured, with half of them missing games as a result.
Even just playing soccer is especially dangerous in the Olympics, with a higher injury rate than other major tournaments like the World Cup. One reason for this may be that Olympic teams only allow three players over the age of 23 to play, which limits the presence of more experienced and skilled players on the field. Younger and less experienced players are more likely to take risks and get injured.
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is one of the most dangerous of the Olympic combat sports, mainly because it requires strikes to the head and torso.
At the 2012 Olympics, taekwondo athletes had a higher injury rate than wrestling, boxing, and fencing athletes: 39% of taekwondo athletes suffered some sort of injury. The
Weightlifting
Weightlifting is one of the five most injured sports. Most are related to muscle overuse, such as muscle strains or tendonitis, but the sport can lead to more serious problems, such as herniated discs, shoulder locks, and excruciating elbow injuries.
