AP PHOTOS: Winter Olympians take crash course in physics

Beijing Olympics Crashes Photo Gallery (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Sometimes Olympic dreams and physics are on an unenviable collision course.

Athletes have literally crashed out of competition, ending their quests for a medal by smashing into siding, toppling over amid a crowded cross-country skiing field or simply pitching face-first into the snow. Their hopes live and die on the edge of their skate, snowboard or ski.

For a public accustomed to watching Olympians flawlessly execute superhuman feats, a tussle with gravity is a reminder that even athletes in the most rarefied of circles are all too human.

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