The New York Time’s John Branch looks into the issue of women getting hurt riding the same terrain as the men during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. In other Alpine sports (like the downhill) women have their own courses, but not in snowboarding.
Through Monday night, a review of the events at the Extreme Park counted at least 22 accidents that forced athletes out of the competition or, if on their final run, required medical attention. Of those, 16 involved women. The proportion of injuries to women is greater than it appears given that the men’s fields are generally larger.
Branch looks into these issues and more and comes to no real conclusion. If he did someone would probably get mad and call him sexist. But his story is still worth a read, especially if you winced occasionally during the women’s slopestyle, halfpipe, and boardercross events.
[Link: New York Times]
