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Wednesday night proved to be Shaun White’s night as he took the gold medal in the men’s halfpipe event. White won with a score of 48.6 following an incredible display of athleticism and agility.
The 23 year old athlete came into the Olympics defending the gold medal in the same event, and successfully repeated. He has also previously won the vert competition in skateboarding at the 2007 X Games.
The silver medal in men’s halfpipe snowboarding went to Peetu Piiroinen of Finland, and the Bronze went to the United States’ Scott Lago.
In the women’s halfpipe snowboarding competition, Australia’s Torah Bright took the gold medal home with a score of 45.0. Torah Bright, also 23 years old, helped to break the long-standing U.S. domination of women’s halfpipe snowboarding. Americans Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark took the silver and bronze medals home, with scores of 42.4 and 42.2, respectively.
The amount of force placed on the body during an event such as snowboarding is incredible. Seeing the heights that Shaun White, Torah Bright, and the other snowboarders reach during the event shows just how much impact they are coming down with. While the forces placed on the body while snowboarding have never been studied and published, the forces during skateboarding have. While skateboarding, ground reactive forces can reach up to 10-20 times the skateboarder’s body weight. It would be very interesting to see exactly what the forces are being placed on the feet, ankles, knees and hips during snowboarding.
Non-professional snowboarders are likely to be familiar with these forces. Going off of a jump, it is important to land with the knees slightly bent, bringing the entire body down closer to the ground while landing. This helps lessen the impact on the body. Landing with a straight knee joint and rigid ankle joint can seriously injure the participant.
Snowboarding injuries that are typically seen include ankle sprains and knee ligament injuries. These occur from the twisting motions of the body over a stationary knee and ankle. Without the proper attention to detail, the amateur snowboarder can find himself or herself in an immense amount of pain following this type of injury.
Keep watching the Olympics to see how your favorite athletes prepare their bodies for the impact with the ground. Notice how they move their legs, knees and feet when landing in snowboarding and ski jumping. Ski jumping is set for February 22, with several rounds being televised.
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1 comment:
We see an increase in sports related injuries to feet and ankles during the winter. Skiing and skating are especially prone to injuries. Warm up before the activity is critical.
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