Former Olympic Skier Suffers Collapsed Lung After 5-Meter Dive Goes Wrong: ‘Very Expensive Lesson

Chemmy Alcott diving (L) and in the hospital (R) Credit: Chemmy Alcott/Instagram

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Chemmy Alcott suffered a collapsed lung after a bad front flip dive while vacationing in Annecy, France

The 44-year-old former Olympic skier explained she suffered a collapsed lung and needed a chest drain in a candid Instagram video on Thursday, Aug. 13

Alcott said on her Instagram Stories that she returned to the platform out of embarrassment before realizing she needed medical attention

A former Olympic alpine ski racer suffered a collapsed lung after diving badly off a platform.

Chemmy Alcott , from Surrey, England, was on vacation in Annecy, France, where she attempted to do a front flip into the water and ended up in the hospital, she explained in an Instagram video .

The mom of two, 44, said she had a collapsed lung and had to have a chest drain, which is typically called a chest tube in the U.S. It is a narrow tube that is used to drain fluid or air from the chest, per the American Lung Association .

“Most people badly time a front flip off a five-meter platform and get winded,” Alcott said. “I apparently don’t do things by halves. Collapsed lung, chest drain and a very expensive lesson in rotation.”

Chemmy Alcott in the hospital Credit: Chemmy Alcott/Instagram

The Winter Olympics commentator explained that things “escalated quickly” and she had a “hard landing.”

“Turns out 5 metres is quite a long way to discover you’ve got the rotation wrong,” she wrote in the clip’s caption, which was uploaded on Thursday, Aug. 13.

“One badly timed front flip. One very hard landing. One collapsed lung. One chest drain. And a few more hospital overnights than were on the holiday itinerary… I absolutely LOVED Annecy... but I’m not entirely sure it loved me back. 😂,” Alcott added.

The athlete shared a video of the incident, which showed her landing feet-first into the water. The video then cut to a picture of herself in a hospital gown with wires attached to her body, along with a snap of what appeared to be the chest drain inserted into her armpit. ​

Chemmy Alcott diving off the platform Credit: Chemmy Alcott/Instagram

Alcott uploaded a picture of herself diving in the same spot a second time and explained on her Instagram Stories that she was embarrassed by the accident.

“Re my reel, I actually went back up straight away in embarrassment and did this so I wasn’t making a big deal out of it,” the skier said. “Then I realised I still couldn’t breathe properly and should probably go and get it checked out.”

Lindsey Vonn and Chemmy Alcott in 2008 Credit: Mitchell Gunn/Shutterstock

“Double ouch! Get well soon ❤️,” one fan wrote on the video, while another said: “AHH that looks painful! Look after yourself!”

Tom Daley , a former British Olympic diver, commented: “Diving is crazy!”

The incident came six months after she reported on her friend Lindsey Vonn’s devastating crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Alcott, who was commentating for BBC Sport at the time, held back tears while broadcasting from the scene in Cortina d’Ampezzo, in northern Italy.

Vonn, an alpine ski racer competing for Team USA, crashed in the women’s downhill event on Sunday, Feb. 8. She was already competing on a ruptured ACL after an injury the week before the accident.

“I actually feel guilty that I’m this emotional, but when we thought about the end of this story… I just never believed that it would end in her in a clump at the side of the piste not moving,” Alcott said at the time. “This is an absolute nightmare. It’s an absolute nightmare.”

Alcott has previously praised the 41-year-old as a “pioneer of women’s skiing” and a “history maker,” after Vonn announced her retirement in 2019.

“She changed our sport for the better in so many ways, and women’s ski racing will forever owe her so much,” Alcott wrote on X at the time. Vonn came out of retirement in 2024 following a knee replacement.

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