Videos of Figure Skaters Crashing
When skaters make mistakes, it hurts! YouTube clips show you why.
Revised July 8, 2007: If you can watch any of these re-runs without feeling the "OUCH!," you're even colder than the ice.
Likewise, please note that these clips are not meant for young children – or the faint of heart. Some of the featured falls were actually very serious.
Glorifying the pain and suffering of our young sports heros is not the intention of this listing. Rather, appreciate these athletes for their ability to literally bounce back.
We will continue adding to this list of links as new clips of crashes are found. If you would like to help build this article, please email us links and descriptions of figure skating accidents. Be sure to put “Skating Accidents Link” in the subject line.
#1: “Figure Skating: A Dangerous Sport” is a made-for-TV short that shows splats from such greats as Johnny Weir, Sasha Cohen, pairs and performers. This video showcases athletes’ strength and resiliency over their ability to bounce.
#2: Canadian skater Jessica Dube took a hit this spring in Colorado when her partner’s blade lacerated her left cheek and nose while the pair executed their side-by-side camel spins during their free skate at 2007 Four Continents Cup. She needed surgery to repair the damage.
#3: “Ice Skating Bloopers” puts together plenty of face-plants and sprawled eagles from some of figure skating’s most forgettable and regrettable televised moments.
#4: Skate America certainly isn’t safe from surprises, as revealed by this clip of pairs champs Totmianina and Maxim Marinin’s famous fall out of a fairly easy lift. She hit the ice face first from about eight feet above the rink.
#5: Midori Ito and Laetitia Hubert collided in their warm up at the 1991 World Championships. Hubert was understandably shaken, but Ito showed how extreme athletes due business. Midori went on to post this exciting program.
#6: One of my most favorite crashes happened when Midori Ito actually jumped out of the rink. We are trying to locate a video clip of the actual competition.
Ito’s famous leap into and out of the camera pit landed her in fourth place at the competition as a first-rate sportsman. Her attitude carried her far beyond this spill, through many landed triple axels – a feat not easy for any figure skater, let alone a woman who’s heyday was in the 1980’s and ‘90s.
Remember: Please let us know if any of these links are broken or if you find other clips in cyberspace to share with the skating community.
