Chemmy Alcott, a presenter for the BBC's 'Ski Sunday' program, has revealed she suffered a collapsed lung after a jump into a lake in France. The 44-year-old former Olympic skier posted a video on Instagram showing her jumping from a five-meter platform into Lake Annecy before a difficult landing.
Alcott described the incident, stating, "Most people badly time a front flip off a five-metre platform and get winded. I apparently don't do things by halves. Collapsed lung, chest drain and a very expensive lesson in rotation." She explained that initially, out of embarrassment and to avoid making a big deal of the landing, she jumped again. However, she soon realized she was unable to breathe properly and sought medical attention.
The former GB skier later shared images from a hospital, showing medical tubes and wires. In a caption accompanying the video, titled "this didn't end well," Alcott wrote, "Well... that escalated quickly. Turns out five metres is quite a long way to discover you've got the rotation wrong. 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."
A collapsed lung, medically known as pneumothorax, occurs when air escapes from the lung and is trapped in the space between the lung and the chest wall, according to the NHS. Alcott participated in the Winter Olympics for Great Britain as a competitor before transitioning to broadcasting.