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The Olympic Games are a great sporting spectacle, full of emotions, a sense of pride, but also disappointment if a player or team loses the chance for a medal. Over the course of history, however, the Games have also witnessed real dramas, when, as a result of accidents, the athletes lost not their place on the podium, but their lives. The last such case at the Winter Olympics was 12 years ago.
- Since 1900, four athletes have died at the Winter Olympics
- Among them was also the Polish luge Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki
- The list of fatalities related to the Winter Olympics also includes a doctor from one of the national teams
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Pictured: Nodar Kumaritashvili died during the 2010 Vancouver Games.
A black year in the history of the Winter Games. Two fatalities
The Olympic Games are held every four years, in two seasons – summer and winter. Since the beginning of the 24th century, we have had XNUMX Winter Olympics with competitors from all over the world competing against each other in various disciplines. During the Games, spectators witness many emotional situations: when a national team wins a medal, when a player loses his chance at the last minute, when the favorite is injured, or when an athlete is disqualified due to doping.
- See also: The Grim History of the Games. They died in the Olympics
Unfortunately, history also knows cases where the events around the Olympics had a tragic end. The first time this happened in 1964. It was then that the first athlete died during the Winter Olympics. It was a Pole living in Great Britain – Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki. The luge had an accident during training. As a result, he had, inter alia, to damage to the skull and pelvis. Kay-Skrzypecki died the next day.
The first Winter Olympics, played in the shadow of the athlete’s death, continued. However, just a few days after Kay-Skrzypecki’s death, another tragic event occurred. Only 19-year-old downhill skier Ross Milne hit a tree during his training. The athlete was transported to hospital, but the doctors at the facility found him dead.
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More fatal accidents at the Olympics
1964 years have passed since the 22 Olympics. Most viewers no longer remembered that such events had taken place. They did not associate the competition with potential tragedies. Unfortunately, 1988 brought another death at the Olympics. During the Olympics in Calgary Austrian team doctor Jörg Oberhammer was skiing and he collided with another skier. The man was pushed under the snow groomer and died on the spot.
- Also read: Which winter sport has the most injuries? Orthopaedist: definitely not in ski jumping
An almost identical situation also took place in 1992. This time A Swiss competitor, Nicolas Bochatay, who is practicing cross-country skiing, fell under the snow groomer. He was also not saved.
Last death at the Winter Olympics. It happened in 2010.
Since 1900, deaths at the Olympics have occurred not only in winter, but also in summer. However, when it comes to the Winter Games themselves, the 2010th century ended with a total of four fatalities. However, also in the 140st century he extended his hand to the Olympian who fought for the medal. The last fatal accident so far during the Winter Games took place in XNUMX. It was then that Georgian toboggan Nodar Kumaritashvili died in Vancouver. The incident took place just before the opening ceremony. The Georgian was speeding at a speed of XNUMX km when he fell off the track and hit the pole supporting the roof of the facility. Despite immediate resuscitation, the athlete died.
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