Featured image credit: PA
The Rio Olympics has been full of drama. From pools turning green to a gymnast's leg breaking on the vault, some would argue that it's the most gruesome Olympics in history, but I would say that past Olympics saw a lot worse.
Here are just a few contenders...
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Beijing 2008 - Janos Baranyai, Weightlifting - Well it wasn't his finest moment. The Hungarian athlete was attempting to lift 148kg in the men's 77kg snatch. It all went horribly wrong.
Video credit:YouTube jameshacksu
London 2012 - Jaehyouk Sa, Weightlifting - Talk about repeating history itself. Four years on from claiming gold in the same event that Baranyai had his injury, the South Korean athlete, Sa, did exactly the same thing as Baranyai. He was attempting to lift 162kg in his second snatch attempt when he, too, dislocated his elbow.
Video credit: YouTube Zthae Anglon
London 2012 - Katie Glynn, Field Hockey - It was an Olympic semi-final against The Netherlands for New Zealand. Glynn took a hockey stick strike to the back of the head. She collapsed, head in hands and was taken off the field to seek medical assistance.
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Despite her injury, she got bandaged up and headed back out to finish what she started, only to lose the match during penalty shootouts. We're not sure what hurt more...
Video credit: YouTube 12988Jake
Atlanta 1996 - Greg Louganis, Diving - The USA diver hit his head on the 3m diving board in Atlanta 1996 while attempting a two and a half back pike dive.
Video credit: YouTube oldnewsclipster
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Atlanta 1996 - Kerri Strug, Gymnastics - How awesome would be it be to be able to claim that you won gold in the Olympic gymnastics vault final with a broken ankle? That's exactly what Strug did in Atlanta. She managed a gold-winning vault and broke her ankle on landing. She was carried off to seek medical attention and later carried onto the podium to collect her medal.
Video credit: YouTube Miss Dionne Presents...
Sydney 2000 - Patrik Kristiansson, Pole Vault - Lads, scroll down, and look away. It's not pretty. This is hands down the reason why I would never take up pole vaulting; too much can go wrong. This happened to Swedish pole vaulter Kristiansson who took a pole to the groin.
Video credit: YouTube YouMoron.Org
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Sydney 2000 - Adrienne Nyeste, Gymnastics - As soon as athletes start defying gravity, watching gymnastics is heart-in-mouth TV. The Hungarian gymnast catapulted off the bars and face planted the floor. Knocked unconscious, her coach rushed to her side.
Video credit: YouTube dan0theman09's channel
Barcelona 1992 - Gail Devers, 100m Sprint - At the 1992 Barcelona Games, the US hurdler was on track to become the Olympic champion in the 110m sprint. Leading right up until the last hurdle, Devers took the stumble of all stumbles just before the finish line. As she stumbles, her competitors pass and her gold medal is snatched from her hands. Although it didn't result in injury, it was a heart-wrenching moment for her.
Video credit: YouTube Trackstar2000
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Deaths at the Games - Sorry to get morbid, but dying at the Games is the worst of the worst.
Francisco Lazaro died at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Prior to the marathon, he thought he could improve his performance by not sweating, so he decided to grease his body up. Having the adverse effect, due to his body not being able to cool down from the high temperatures, his body couldn't cope. Just after the half-way point, Lázaro fell for the first time, and stopped walking straight. After 30 kilometres, he eventually collapsed, and did not get up. After being taken to the hospital and put in the critical care unit, he died at about 6am the following morning.
Romanian boxer Nicolae Berechet died after blood poisoning a few days after one of his matches at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
Knud Enemark Jensen, a cyclist, died during the 100km team time trial at the Rome 1960 Olympics.
Granted, Rio has had its moments and French gymnast Samir Ait Said has made it into the history books of the worst Olympic injuries of all times. But, so far, nobody has died, so we're winning compared to some previous Games...
Words: Hamish Kilburn
Featured Image Credit:Topics: History