Euronews · Feb 14, 2026 · Collected from RSS
This photo gallery highlights some of the most spectacular falls of athletes at the Milan Winter Olympics.
By Serge Duchêne with AP Photo Published on 14/02/2026 - 20:03 GMT+1 Ilia Malinin crashed during the men's figure skating free programme, ending his medal hopes. Alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn broke her left leg in the women's downhill, while Liu Jiayu injured herself in a fall during the women's snowboard half-pipe qualifying. This photo gallery, selected by the Associated Press, highlights some of the most spectacular falls of the Milan Winter Olympics. The most shocking event in the figure skating arena Malinin, the heavy favourite for gold, experienced a catastrophic collapse during his free skate on Friday Malinin attempted his signature quadruple Axel but "popped" the jump, being able to complete only a single rotation. He followed this with two more falls on quadruple Lutz attempts. As a result, he finished in 8th place, nearly 30 points behind the gold medalist, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan. Malinin was visibly distraught, telling reporters that the "pressure of the Olympics really gets you" and admitting he felt overwhelmed before his music even started. Lindsey Vonn’s heartbreaking comeback At 41 years old, Alpine skiing legend Vonn’s highly anticipated Olympic return ended in tragedy on the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Just 13 seconds into her downhill run on Sunday, Vonn clipped a gate with her right arm, sending her pinwheeling down the slope at high speed. She was airlifted from the mountain and underwent surgery in Treviso for a complex tibia fracture in her left leg. While the crash likely marks the final end of her competitive career, "no regrets" about attempting the comeback, Vonn posted on social media that