Fake Snow Could Cause a Lot More Olympic Injuries? UW Experts Say Yes

When we read this information from a number of orthopedic sports experts, our first thought was, why have Winter Olympic Games where there's NO SNOW?!?

UW SPORTS MEDICINE, OTHER EXPERTS SAY ARTIFICIAL SNOW CAUSES MORE INJURIES

For those of you that are going to watch the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, perhaps be prepared for more 'crashes' and even injuries.

That's from UW Medicine in Seattle, where a number of orthopedic and sports experts say the artificially manufactured snow is likely to result in more adverse events. From the UW Medicine information released Thursday:

“I think we might see more injuries than we normally do because of the course conditions,” said UW Medicine Dr. Mia Hagen of the Sports Medicine Center at Husky Stadium. Hagen explains that artificial snow tends to become icier and harder than natural snow."

However, this is nothing new.  The 2018 Winter Games in South Korea used the same practices, about 98 percent of the snow was manufactured despite frigid temps.

But in China, ALL of the snow is man-made. However, according to Olympic experts, many skiers, especially, prefer the fake stuff because it allows for higher speeds and better times. Risk vs. reward.

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But the drawback is, it's harder and icier and a crash can go from being just bruises to busted up limbs, ligaments, and more.

 WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME MOST OF THE SNOW WAS "REAL?"

The last time there was a lot of, or a majority of "real" snow was the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Long story short, the Canadians spent a ton of money and resources trucking, even flying in real snow from other mountain areas to the venues. Warmer weather had kept the venues from getting enough snow.

Maybe the IOC (International Olympic Committee) needs to choose venues in the future that are can't-miss when it comes to the real white stuff...like maybe, Switzerland?