33 painful wipeout photos that show how brutal the Winter Olympics can be

Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Athletes at the Winter Olympics have already suffered lots of falls. That's part of the nature of sports like figure skating, snowboarding, and freestyle skiing: Sometimes a slight mistake is the only difference between a medal-winning run and a hard crash on ice or snow. 

But weather is partly to blame, too. In Pyeongchang, harsh winds have contributed to a number of event postponements and athlete wipeouts.

These 33 photos capture some of the falls and crashes that have happened so far. They serve as a powerful reminder of what athletes put their bodies through in pursuit of Olympic glory. 

Chinese athlete Han Tianyu crashed skates-up during a short-track speed skating event.

During a skeleton training run, Nigerian slider Simidele Adeagbo's sled lifted off the ice.

Adeagbo is the first black woman to compete in skeleton at the Olympics, according to the Guardian.  

Japan's Yuka Fujimori was one of many who crashed during the windy women's snowboard slopestyle final. Only five of 25 competitors made the first run without falling.

Source: Reuters

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