Vacation Mishap for Chemie Alcott
Chemie Alcott’s trip took an unexpected turn when the former Olympic skier experienced a collapsed lung after a failed dive into the waters of Annecy, France. She shared the incident on her Instagram reels recently, describing it as “a very expensive lesson.”
The 44-year-old from Surrey, UK, became aware that something was off when she noticed her breathing was not quite right. This realization led her to seek medical attention, where a chest drain was necessary.
Alcott humorously remarked, “Most people mess up a front flip from 5 meters and get blown out by the wind. Apparently, I can’t do things halfway. I ended up with a collapsed lung, a chest drain, and a pricey lesson in physics.”
One of her Instagram videos caught the moment she landed awkwardly, with one leg in front of the other, before cutting to footage of her in a hospital bed connected to various monitors. She expressed her embarrassment over the jump, noting she didn’t suspect anything was wrong until she got out of the water.
Despite the mishap, Alcott didn’t initially think it was serious and made another jump from the platform.
Later, she posted a snapshot of her family—her husband and two children, Rocky and Cooper—visiting her in the hospital. She captioned the video, revealing her thoughts: “Five meters can be quite a distance when you realize you’ve messed up your rotation. One miscalculated front flip led to a tough landing, a collapsed lung, and more hospital time than I’d planned. I absolutely loved Annecy, but it seems Annecy wasn’t too fond of me! 😂”
Feedback poured in from her followers, including Olympic diver Tom Daley, who commented, “Diving is crazy!” Lindsey Vonn, her skiing friend, also sent her support saying, “Damn you, Kem! Fix it ❤️.”
Alcott, who has had a long skiing career that included participating in four Olympic Games starting in 2002, expressed deep emotions during a recent BBC broadcast when discussing Vonn’s unfortunate accident, which resulted in a severe leg fracture.
Reflecting on her own experiences, Olcott mentioned feeling guilty for her tears during tough moments, recognizing the risks involved in their sport. Having wrapped up her skiing career in March 2014 after the British Alpine Championships, her best performances included 11th place finishes in the Downhill event in Torino and Super Combined in Vancouver.
