Top 5 Most Dangerous Sports at the 2018 Winter Olympics

These winter games have been fun to watch, as usual. But part of what makes the Olympics thrilling is the danger factor involved. Not all of the sports involve walking on skis (sorry cross-country skiing, I just can’t watch your sport).

2018 Winter Olympics Most Dangerous Sports

While some sports are more dangerous than others, I’ve identified 5 sports as THE most perilous ones.

5. Short Tracking Speed Skating

Sure, you think of this sport as chaotic and frenetic, but it’s also very dangerous. Think about it, you’re jockeying for position, fighting in close quarters with others, and you’re all wearing long blades, without any real paddling. The other crazy component is that at any point in time you could be bumped off and go spinning out of control into other competitors or the side boards.

4. Alpine Skiing

It’s an oldie but a goodie. Indeed, hurling yourself down a hill at insane speeds is still as dangerous as it comes in the winter games. The turns, the condition of the hill and sometimes even the weather. All can play a factor in whether or not an athlete survives all the way to the finish. The name of the game is speed and with that comes danger.

3. Aerial Freestyle Skiing

Okay, any sport where at one point you’re looking up at the sky while trying to do twists in the air is a risky one. One wrong rotation or miscalculation and you could land and break your neck. It’s nuts. And it’s also really, really entertaining.

2. Slopestyle Skiing

It’s a new sport, one that was built off the popularity of snowboarding tricks. It’s really quite captivating to watch, as competitors at certain points can be trying to go as fast as possible while skiing backwards. They’re balancing on rails, going off ramps and doing flips. It’s nonsensical. But it’s also quite genius as a spectator sport. Danger is fun, isn’t it?

1. Skeleton

Any sport that was banned for several decades, to me, is the most dangerous sport going. Athletes are lying flat on their stomachs, face first, hurling themselves down a luge or bobsled run. It’s the craziest thing ever – and so are the competitors! You should see the collection of misfits who willingly take this crazy sport on. Heck, even the suits and helmets are painted in maniacal colors.

So there you have it. These are the riskiest of the Winter Olympic sports – that is until they invent some even more dangerous events for adrenaline junkies to participate in.

Matthew Ross is a sports commentator and a radio host on TSN 690 Radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Follow him @MatthewWords.

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Written by Matthew Ross

Matthew Ross is a sports commentator and a radio host on TSN 690 Radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He's also a contributor to ESPN 101.3 Plattsburgh/Burlington. Follow him @MatthewWords.