When it comes to professional athletes, they are truly dedicated to their respective sports and often have to deal with high risks while training and in competition. However, some sports are considered more dangerous than others, causing more injuries and deaths. 

To begin with, cheerleading, along with skiing and skydiving, ranks among some of the most dangerous sports. All-star cheerleading (not high school cheer) includes stunters who create massive towers with their bodies in order to do tricks high up in the air. There is always the risk of falling from such heights, so concussions, sprains, broken bones, and strains are common in the all-star cheer world.

Like cheerleaders, gymnasts face similar injuries in their sport. Tumbling on the gymnastics floor, propelling themselves over giant vaulting tables, swinging around high bars, and flipping on 4-inch balance beams, gymnasts have to overcome not only mental blocks but also physical restrictions in order to fly in the air and perform astounding somersaults and twisters. 

“From 2001 to 2011, the injury incidence (for gymnasts) was 8.78 per 1000 athlete-exposures for men and 9.37 per 1000 athlete-exposures for women,” said Dr. Robert W. Westermann, an orthopedist.

Not only do injuries hinder athletes from training during recovery, but may also cause emotional setbacks that make them feel less confident in their abilities and therefore, cause them to perform worse.

Cliff diving causes many injuries every year as well. Divers leap from cliffs as high as 20 to 45 meters, flip and twist in the air, and hit the water feet first at about 30 meters per second, or approximately 100 feet per second. Due to this reason, only very skilled platform divers typically attempt to cliff dive. Just one slightly wrong move may result in very serious injuries or even possibly death. For this reason, when cliff divers compete, there are always lifeguards floating in the water nearby in case the diver requires immediate medical attention. 

Scuba diving is also more dangerous than you would think. It’s not as simple as having an oxygen tank strapped to your back at all times while you nonchalantly paddle around in the water. Scuba divers constantly face risks such as pulmonary embolism, decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis, running out of oxygen, and of course, drowning.

Bull riding and bullfighting speak for themselves in terms of danger. There are not many things scarier or more life threatening than provoking a massive 1000-kilogram animal who does not show mercy when it is angry.

Last but not least, rugby and racing are two more dangerous sports. Rugby is a collision sport, and athletes often suffer from dislocated joints and bone fractures. Racers race at extremely high speeds in heavy vehicles that are subject to explosions and collisions at any time during competitions.

For every sport, there are certain risks and likelihoods of fatal injuries, so it is very respectable that these athletes can overcome the dangers to pursue the sports that they love.

Photo courtesy of SPORTSSHOW.NET