Failure™ Magazine

Quirkiest Winter Sports Failures I

Part one of a two-part series.

Written by Failure magazine staff   Filed under Sports

Ekaterina Rubleva loses her top while performing with Ivan Shefer.

January 20, 2009: Russian figure skater Ekaterina Rubleva, 23, loses her top while performing with partner Ivan Shefer, 25, during the Ice Dancing compulsory dance at the European Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The pair ignores the wardrobe malfunction and competes with Rubleva’s pink costume hanging down and one of her breasts exposed. The judges go on to award a score of 29.04, good enough for 12th place.

February 3, 2005: World Cup-winning American ski racer Bode Miller loses a ski 16 seconds into a downhill race at Bormio, Italy, but draws cheers from spectators as he continues down the course on one leg—even dropping into a tuck position on occasion—before toppling over just short of the finish line. This one ski run is already considered one of the most memorable runs in skiing history.

October 17, 2002: With five minutes left in an NHL game between the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames at Calgary’s Pengrowth Saddledome, fan Tim Hurlbut (wearing nothing but red socks), climbs over the glass and onto the ice. Hurlbut soon slips, hits his head on the ice, and is knocked unconscious. After a six minute delay, paramedics cart him away on a stretcher to the cheers of thousands of fans.

February 17, 2006: With an insurmountable lead in the women’s snowboardcross final at the 2006 Winter Olympics, American Lindsey Jacobellis, 20, performs an unnecessary trick (a backside method grab) on the second-to-last jump, loses her edge and tumbles to the snow. While scrambling to get up, Tanja Frieden of Switzerland races past Jacobellis to capture the gold medal.

Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >