"And it's true! There's downhill skiing: hurtling down a sheer face of ice at eighty miles per hour. Ski jumping: schussing straight down a steep hill, jumping off a ledge, travelling a hundred metres through the air, and landing . . . on skis. Skeleton: lying face down, one's chin inches off the frozen surface, while sledding head first along a curving ice chute at nearly ninety miles per hour. Aerial skiing: not unlike ski jumping, but add flips and twists."
"Hockey: sharp blades, swinging sticks, frozen rubber discs flung at high speeds, and, sometimes, flying fists. Bobsled: like Formula 1 racing-in a convertible. Biathlon actually involves guns. Luge seems tamer than skeleton, sort of-at least lugers slide feet first-except that an athlete actually did die in a crash during a training run just before the start of the Vancouver Olympics."
At the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, many athletes confronted extreme physical danger across disciplines that include downhill skiing, ski jumping, skeleton, aerial skiing, hockey, bobsled, biathlon, luge, and ski cross. High speeds, aerial maneuvers, sharp equipment, and firearms increased risk. Historical incidents included a luger’s fatal crash during Vancouver training; cross-country finishers often collapse from oxygen deprivation. Some storylines involved comeback attempts, notably Lindsey Vonn aiming a downhill return at forty-one after five-year retirement and partial knee replacement, just nine days after a full A.C.L. rupture. The Games produced memorable moments of resilience and reasons for hope.
Read at The New Yorker
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