Athlete Fails That Are So Bad, But We Just Can’t Look Away – Perfectly-Timed Sports Photos
While many athletes strive for perfection, it's an unattainable goal, and everyone has their awkward moments. No matter how much training they put in, mistakes are inevitable. It’s even tougher when those moments are captured on camera! Here are some of the most memorable fails featuring women athletes.
Where is the Crystal Ball?
Have you heard about the latest crystal ball? It's currently the most extraordinary one in the world. This crystal ball lets you glimpse both the past and the future, revealing nearly anything you want to see. It’s become a sensation among athletes, especially Olympians, who use it to predict whether they’ll win or lose their events.
So far, the crystal ball hasn’t let anyone down—it's claimed to be 100% accurate. The swimmer in the photo above appears to be gazing into it, but wait... there’s nothing visible inside. What’s really happening? Only the swimmer knows the answer.
Cat Scratch Fever
When unsure, unleash the cat claws. But here's the question: is she celebrating or trying to look fierce? Since she’s smiling, we’re guessing it’s a celebration. Are "celebratory claws" actually a thing?
The photographer noted this moment happened during a goal celebration in a match between FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano, held in the fifth week of Primera Iberdrola, the top women’s league in Spain.
Just Like A Cat!
It's unclear whether pretending to be a cat is the best technique for a vault jump. It’s tough to tell if Beyza Ozen is springing toward the vault or pushing off from it.
Judging by the angle, this seems to be her moment of takeoff—charging in on all fours before launching with elegance. If she sticks the landing, all the playful buildup will be worth it, especially if it earns her a spot on the podium.
Morgan Down!
Famous track star Morgan Uceny unfortunately faced one of her worst fears during the 2012 Olympics, falling victim to an incident caused by her competitors. As reported by USA Today, "At the start of the final lap, a Russian runner's back kick struck the inside of Uceny’s left knee, causing her to fall. She had spent 1,100 meters running inside Lane 2, avoiding being boxed in and positioning herself to respond when the pace picked up. Strategically, she had done everything possible to avoid such a disaster."
After tripping in the 1500m race, Uceny missed the opportunity to bring home gold, silver, or bronze for the US, a heartbreaking moment she’s likely to replay in her mind forever.
Is She Scared Of The Ball?
This goalie had a simple task, but she just couldn't manage it. Here, Alex Morgan from the US Women’s National Team fires a powerful shot on goal, while the Argentinian keeper seems to be trying to dodge rather than stop the ball.
Unsurprisingly, the US women dominated the match with a 6-0 victory, especially given the shaky performance shown by Solana Peryra here. The goalie’s move should be toward the ball, not away from it!
Uh Oh, Miho
Professional speed skater Miho Takagi might look calm and composed in this picture, but there's more going on than it seems. In sports, an athlete’s mindset goes far beyond their outfit and appearance, especially in a fast-paced sport like speed skating. However, in this case, Miho probably should’ve double-checked her outfit that day... can you spot the issue?
Let’s hope the crowd was too focused on her flawless performance to catch this wardrobe mishap!
That Will Leave A Bruise!
This is Russian figure skater Maya Khromykh, and her performance took a dive after this tumble onto the ice. Here she is, falling flat after failing to land a trick. Needless to say, she didn't make it to the podium.
Taking a fall like that on the ice is bound to leave a bruise—both physically and to her ego. We just hope another athlete took a slightly harder fall, so Maya could feel a bit better about herself.
A Falling Beauty
With her stunning and graceful outfit, and a composed expression, U.S. skater Gracie Gold didn't quite live up to her last name at the 2014 Winter Olympics. After this dramatic fall, Gracie finished fourth, marking the first time since 1936 that the U.S. didn’t medal in the event. Tough luck, Gracie, but at least you looked fantastic! This just goes to show that even the most practiced routines can go awry.
Seventeen-year-old Adelina Sotnikova of Russia took the top spot in the competition, much to the delight of the home crowd, as the event was held in Sochi.
Again With The Hurdles
Sports bring joy, shame, victory, and defeat... but above all, they bring epic fails! Ouch... we've seen some pretty brutal falls in this article, but this one has to be the worst hurdling wipeout. Maybe it's the angle that really captures the pain she’s in, or maybe it’s just the sheer intensity of the fall, but we can’t help but sympathize with this major fail.
For the sake of the runner, we can only hope she bounced back with grace and poise. Hopefully, she managed to finish the race and even place, unlike the previous runner we mentioned who didn’t quite survive those pesky hurdles.
The Big Set-Up
Sometimes, it's not about the fail itself, but the perfect timing of a photo. This is Taylor Pischke, a Canadian volleyball player. Not only is she often featured on lists of the world’s most beautiful athletes, but she’s also incredibly skilled, having won seven Canadian national titles!
You can't beat the intense focus on her face here during the Pan Am Games. She’s clearly keeping her eyes on the prize.
Russian Long Jumper Darya Klishina Has A Dirty Job
Hailing from Russia, Olympic long jumper Darya Klishina is an exceptional athlete. She first began competing in long jump when she was thirteen years old and has succeeded ever since.
Klishina has a silver medal in the world championships, a bronze in European championships, two gold medals in the European indoor championships and is also an Olympic Games finalist.
The Long, Hard Road to Victory
Cycling is one of the most exhilarating but intense and potentially dangerous sports around and can easily result in some nasty spills along the road... spills like the one we see here. One person going down could potentially be disastrous since they could get in the way of all the bikers behind them!
In this photo, we witness the collision between professional bikers Na Ah of South Korea and Fernanda da Silva Sousa of Brazil, which also led to a domino effect of destruction for other bikers in the race. While we have seen worse cases of this scenario, any incident like this in a bike race is pretty worrisome to watch!
Pass It On
Again with the baton blunders, USA runner Torri Edwards has a very disgusted look on her face as she attempted to pass the baton to her teammate Lauryn, but failed to get it there on the first try. With all of the training, pain, agony and effort that goes into physically preparing for an event like this, it is truly a travesty when something as easy as passing the button messes up the chances of gold.
This incident happened at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing. Apparently, dropping the baton in this type of race is a frequent problem for American relay teams.
Out Of Breath
Women's weightlifting has to be one of the most challenging sports in the Olympics and requires years of training, placement, lifting, dieting, and much more than we even realize. Thailand's weightlifting athlete Rattikan Gulnoi is out of breath in this aerial shot after competing in the London Olympics in 2012. We cannot even imagine how tired she would be – look at that bar!
That year, Gulnoi originally finished in fourth place, but after Ukraine's Yuliya Kalina was disqualified for prohibited steroid use, Gulnoi was promoted and ended up earning the bronze medal. It seems that her look of exasperation was well-earned after all.
This Is Not The 400m Hurdles... Or Is It?
It’s our old friend Morgan Uceny again. She has been featured in this particular article which is all about fails that occur in the world of sports. She has been seen falling, and even beating on the track. It is understandable to be angry when you are a champion runner and all of a sudden you slip and fall.
What would happen if Morgan did not slip and fall on the track? She would have to make adjustments and treat the track as if they were the 400m hurdles. The only problem with the 100m hurdles is that you would need the actual hurdles to hurdle over to make the event complete.
A Shot Putter's Face Up Close
Things may appear to be different that what they actually are. The camera has a way of making someone look good or look bad. The shot put is perhaps one of the least known events in the Olympics, but it is one of the most challenging events.
You have to not only be strong in the shot put, but you have to be extremely coordinated. The lady in the image above is getting ready to throw the shot put. There is a lot of grunting and disgruntled faces involved when trying to throw the shot put. The woman in the image is putting her all into the throw. It seems scary in a way.
Look Out Below
Performing at the 2014 All-Around Women's final, Australian gymnast Olivia Vivian appears to have lost control on the balance beam. But, don't worry! Despite the terrified look on her face, Vivian managed to place fifth overall as the highest scoring Australian in the bunch with a score of 13!
The 27-year-old gymnast started her profession at just eight years old, claiming the uneven bars as her favorite apparatus. In 2008, she contributed the highest score of the Australian team at that year's Olympic games with a sixth-place finish. She even competed for Oregon State University in the NCAA gymnastics for four years.
Even Gabby
Even the great Gabrielle Douglas, a world champion gymnast, has known her fair share of defeat. No matter how many times a performance is practiced, there is always that chance that perfection will not be obtained. Just one little slip from something like a balance beam can make or break an athlete.
Unfortunately for Gabby, this was not among her best moments, but the athlete still held onto the beam with every ounce of her strength and is an inspiration to us all. Douglas is one shining example of how female athletes manage to maintain composure and grace in the face of a challenge.
Don’t Blink or You Might Miss It!
Oh man... doesn't seeing someone in a position like this make you nervous?! Fortunately for these types of situations, years and years of training kick in almost instinctively. This was taken at the 2012 Olympic Games in London during the Women's Individual All-Around Gymnastics Final.
As much as it seems Romanian athlete Larisa Iordache is about to fall off of this beam, thanks to skill, practice, and talent, she was able to hold her balance. We're sure the viewers had a huge collective sigh of relief to see her regain her balance and finish the routine. Phew!
The Unbalanced Beam
You may see the chalk on the hands of some athletes in the Olympic games. The chalk is used so that an athlete can have a grip onto a bar, beam, or pole during a performance. Sometimes chalk helps and sometimes it does not.
In the case of Jennifer Pinches (how ironic that she has a name like Pinches), the chalk seems to have gotten wet. She was trying to hang on to victory but it just happened to slip when she was competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Maybe a little more chalk and a little less sweat will do next time.
Head Into Shoulders
It's not always easy to be graceful playing basketball. This is the perfect example. In going after a lose ball, one of the players dives head first into the shoulder of another.
That... probably left a mark. This is from a game between Indiana University and Iowa. The Hoosiers beat the Hawkeyes 89-90, but the real winner was the photographer who took this photo. Thank you for your service to the cause!
Making A Funny Face Adds Power
We're going to assume that this Cricket player is using proper form in this image, but did she have to make that face? Does it add power to her stroke as she bowls the ball?
At the very least, she would probably prefer a more flattering photo be taken. The again, she probably knows the benefit making this face gave her during the match. She probably grunted for a little extra oomph!
With Our Powers Combined
This soccer lowlight features Emily Sonnett of the US Women's National Team and Marta of the Brazilian women's team. Going after the ball, they get tangled up, and we wouldn't be surprised if the moment that followed was a disaster.
This moment came during the 2021 SheBelieves Cup. The 2-0 victory made the pain worth it for Sonnett, and it extended the United States two year unbeaten streak in international soccer.
A Landing That'll Leave A Mark
Long jumping isn't what we would call a glamorous sport. These women aren't worried about sticking the landing, their more focused on just how far they can launch their bodies. That motivation leads to images like this, where Sarah McCarthy has a rough landing that is definitely going to leave a mark.
The good news is there are no style point in long jumping. So, even though the landing is more awkward that she probably would have liked, she won't lose any points for landing on her rear.
HELP!
The face here says it all. Nicole Cardano-Hillary was not ready to get the ball. Instantly being double teams by Michigan's defense only made matters worse. She's clearly screaming for help here, and we hope she got it!
If the final score is any indication, she may have. Indiana managed to pull out a victory over Michigan 70-65, making this moment one that will be quickly forgotten by her teammates.
CANNONBALL!
When long jumping, as we said, there is no such thing as a graceful landing. This impact fro Alexandra Yevstyunina makes it look more like she's doing a cannonball dive into a swimming pool than anything else.
Unfortunately, the sand isn't water, which likely led to a painful landing. This photo was taken at the 30th Russian Winter track and field tournament that was held as the CSKA Sports Complex.
Fighting For The Ball
In an effort to secure the rebound, these two female basketball players put their bodies on the line. They could have used a little more spatial awareness, though. Then one of them might have come down with the ball instead of this bone crunching moment.
This match featured the Butler Bulldogs and DePaul Blue Demons. If this is any indication of how things went, a lot of ice packs were used after the match.
She May Have Pulled A Muscle
This might not be a total fail, but from the look on Maya Khromykh's face, she' clearly in pain. She might have even pulled a muscle performing this ice skating trick.
A person has to be really flexible to bring their leg up behind them that high. With how shark her skates are, she may have even given herself an unwanted haircut. Hopefully the pain was worth the reward when her score came in!
A Little To The Right
In an effort to win possession of the ball, these female athletes missed it entirely. The ball squeaked away to the right, while these three competitors crashed into each other. Their coaches couldn't have been very pleased.
This was a match between Atletico d Madrid and Real Sociedad from December 2020. This is not what any of these ladies wanted to get for Christmas. At least one of them would have preferred a goal instead of a bruise.
Protecting Her Nose
There is nothing easy about being a goalie, especially when you can't wear a protective face mask. Sandra Toft gets credit for both blocking this shot while simultaneously trying to protect her face.
It's a split second reaction that not only saves a goal, but also saves the goalie from a trip to the hospital. At the speed the ball can travel, it would do some real damage if she didn't pull off this amazing double save. It still looks funny, though!
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Kristin Miller
