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Chemmy Alcott, the well-known presenter of Ski Sunday and former British Olympic skier, revealed that she experienced a collapsed lung after leaping into a lake while vacationing in France. The 44-year-old shared a video on Instagram capturing her jump from a five-metre platform into Lake Annecy in the French Alps, where she unfortunately landed awkwardly, resulting in hospitalization. In her post, she commented on the difficulty of the jump, saying, “Most people badly time a front flip off a five-metre platform and get winded,” before adding, “I apparently don’t do things by halves. Collapsed lung, chest drain and a very expensive lesson in rotation.”
Despite the painful landing, Alcott initially attempted the jump again out of embarrassment and a desire not to make a fuss. However, she quickly realized something was wrong as she struggled to breathe properly and wisely sought medical attention. She later posted images from the hospital showing tubes and wires attached to her while explaining the severity of her injury. The caption of her main video, titled “this didn’t end well,” summarized the ordeal: “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.”
A collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, happens when air accumulates in the space between the lung and chest wall, causing the lung to deflate, according to the NHS. In Alcott’s case, the injury was the result of blunt trauma when her chest struck the water at speed. Jumping from five metres, she was estimated to hit the water at around 20 mph, placing significant force on her body despite the smooth surface of the lake.
While cold water shock, a risk of swimming in UK lakes due to sudden cold temperature effects on the heart and lungs, is less of a concern in Lake Annecy—where summer water temperatures range from 25 to 27 degrees Celsius—the danger from impact injuries remains. The Royal Life Saving Society advises swimmers to enter water cautiously and never to jump from heights, emphasizing the need to assess safety factors like depth, currents, and underwater obstacles. Alcott, who competed in all five skiing disciplines and represented Great Britain in four Winter Olympics, retired from professional skiing after multiple leg injuries and now serves as Ski Sunday’s lead co-presenter alongside Ed Leigh. Earlier this year, she covered the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina for BBC One
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