Chemmy Alcott, the 44-year-old presenter of the winter sports programme Ski Sunday, says she suffered a collapsed lung and required a chest drain after a jump into Lake Annecy in the French Alps ended in a hard landing. The former Great Britain Olympic skier shared footage of the incident on Instagram, revealing she was hospitalised for several nights following the fall from a five-metre platform.
According to a German-language report from 20 Minuten, Alcott is a four-time Olympic competitor and spent multiple nights in hospital after needing the chest drain to treat her injury.
What happened during the jump?
Alcott leapt from a five-metre platform into the lake but mistimed a front flip, landing awkwardly and injuring herself badly enough to require emergency treatment. In the video she shared, she described the outcome in blunt terms.
"Most people badly time a front flip off a five-metre platform and get winded," she said in the clip. "I apparently don't do things by halves. Collapsed lung, chest drain and a very expensive lesson in rotation."
Rather than seeking help immediately, Alcott said she felt embarrassed and returned to the platform for a second attempt so as not to draw attention to the fall. Citing the Daily Mail, she said she went straight back up out of embarrassment, only realising afterwards that she genuinely could not breathe properly.
She later posted images from her hospital bed, showing tubes and monitoring equipment attached to her body as she recovered.
What did Alcott say about the experience?
In a caption accompanying the clip, which she titled "this didn't end well," Alcott reflected on how quickly the situation changed.
"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."
What actually causes this type of injury?
A collapsed lung, medically termed a pneumothorax, happens when air becomes trapped in the space between the lung and the chest wall, according to the NHS. Unlike the well-known danger of cold water shock — where a sudden drop in body temperature can trigger a heart attack or cause a swimmer to inhale water — Lake Annecy's summer water temperature sits at a mild 25C to 27C, ruling that out as a factor here.
Instead, medical experts note that Alcott's injury more closely resembles a blunt trauma injury, similar to the impact of a high-speed collision. In such cases the skin remains unbroken, but the force can still severely damage bones, muscles and internal organs. Having jumped from a five-metre board, Alcott was likely travelling at around 20mph when she struck the water, with the impact of her chest against the surface causing the lung to collapse.
The Royal Life Saving Society has issued guidance for people swimming outdoors this summer, urging caution before entering open water. "Is the area safe? Consider potential hazards - too deep or too shallow, currents, tides, underwater objects," the organisation advises on its website. "Enter slowly and carefully, and never jump from heights."
How does this fit into Alcott's sporting career?
Alcott built a successful racing career as a British champion, competing across all five alpine skiing disciplines — downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom and combined. She competed in her fourth and final Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, after which she retired from international competition on medical advice following a series of leg fractures.
She subsequently joined the Ski Sunday team as a regular contributor and feature presenter before being promoted to lead co-presenter alongside Ed Leigh in 2021. Alcott went on to provide coverage of the most recent Winter Olympics, held in Milan and Cortina earlier this year.
This is not the first time Alcott has faced a serious injury during her career; she previously suffered a significant leg injury during downhill training at Lake Louise that required surgery and sidelined her from major competition, part of a pattern of physical setbacks throughout her time as an elite racer.
