16 Gruesome Weightlifting Injuries

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Hungarian weightlifter Janos Baranyai attempted a 148 kg lift. Disaster struck; his elbow dislocated. The weight hit his back, and he screamed in intense pain. Janos recovered after years of rehab, needing no surgery to return to competition.He got a tattoo of the Olympic rings and "Beijing 2008" across his elbow. This serves as a stark reminder of the incident.Janos Baranyai dislocated his elbow during the "Beijing 2008" Olympics, a grim reminder of the incident. That shows commitment.

During a 2012 Oktoberfest strongman competition, weightlifter Craig Bongelli lifted several 360 lb stone balls onto pedestals. This might not seem dangerous compared to other weightlifting.But it goes wrong. Craig's knees buckled suddenly. The stone crashed onto his chest, flattening him. Though the damage seemed severe, Craig only sustained minor injuries.Weightlifting is dangerous. Craig's knees buckle. The stone crashes onto his chest, flattening him. Though the damage could end his life, Craig was lucky to suffer it.Watching this video is difficult, and watching the 2016 Rio Olympics live made it even harder. Armenian weightlifter Andranik Karapetyan lifted a 195 kg weight. He pulled it up and bent his arm in a way no arm should.He was rushed to the hospital. Doctors determined the arm was dislocated.

Watching this video is tough. Watching the 2016 Rio Olympics live made it harder. The footage shows Armenian weightlifter Andranik Karapetyan step up to 195 kg, lift the weight, and bend his arm in an impossible way.If you think strongman competitions are strange now, you missed them in the 1970s. Franco Columbu, one of the strongest men in the world at that time, competed in a fridge race. This matches the description.Seconds later, Franco made a misstep and collapsed. Franco felt good even after the injury. He correctly identified the injury as a dislocation, not a break. Through hard work, Franco recovered and won the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.This video shows serious, permanent damage. In 2014, CrossFit athlete Kevin Ogar lifted a 210 lb weight overhead during the OC Throwdown. He could not hold it and moved to drop it; the weight landed on his spine. Kevin Ogar went rigid as he fell. That moment made Kevin Ogar paraplegic.Today, Kevin Ogar works on rehabilitation and learns to walk again. Keep fighting, Kevin!

If you think strong man competitions are strange now, you missed them in the 1970s. This video shows Franco Columbu, one of the The elbow dislocated. However, Sa promised to keep training and lifting. Showing a dislocated elbow repeatedly on international television will not stop him. at the time) competing in a fridge race. This is exactly what it sounds like.

A few seconds in, Franco made a mistake, and he fell. Franco remained cheerful even after the injury. He correctly saw the injury as a dislocation, not a break. Hard work let him recover. He won the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

This video shows serious, lasting damage. In 2014, CrossFit athlete Kevin Ogar competed in the OC Throwdown. He lifted a 210 lb weight overhead. He could not hold it and dropped it. The weight hit his spine on the way down. Kevin Ogar went rigid as he fell. At that moment, Kevin Ogar became paraplegic.

Kevin Ogar works on rehabilitation today.Kevin Ogar is learning to walk again.Keep fighting, Kevin!

In another Olympic injury, Jaehyouk Sa competed in London in 2012. The South Korean weightlifter stepped up to the 162 kg weight, lifted it, and his arm failed under the pressure. The pain on his face was clear as he fell.The elbow was dislocated.Sa pledged to keep working on his sport and keep lifting. Even seeing a dislocated elbow repeatedly on international television will not stop him.

We lack actual footage of this incident, one of the biggest weightlifting tragedies recently. In December 2016, weightlifter Kyle Thomson worked in an Iowa gym, doing bench presses. He was performing...He bench pressed 315 pounds., then the weight slipped. A spotter could not save it; the weight hit his neck. He died in the hospital from the injuries. He was only twenty-two.

In 2006, weightlifter "Big" Brian Bach did squats in his gym. Things went wrong fast. The weight became too much, and he fell onto the ground in pain. Doctors later found he broke his femur in one leg, both lower bones in the other, and tore much of his knee. He needed weeks in the hospital and three surgeries to fix the damage.

Not all professional lifters get bad injuries. This viral video shows a woman using a leg press machine. You see her fully extend her legs...She performed the leg press incorrectly, causing injury., then the weight became too much. Her leg bent the wrong way, shocking the viewers. The weight started to crush her. It is unclear if it was a break or a dislocation, but the damage is severe.

In 2002, Ed Coan tried to squat with a 300 kg weight on his back. He seemed fine at first. Then his knee simply failed under the pressure. His knee was completely destroyed, and recovery took years. Later, Coan admitted that...Ed Coan's knee failed during squats.. Good job, Ed.

Small injuries are often the hardest to watch. This 2013 video shows Justin Randal finishing his last curls. Everything seemed fine. But watch closely: his bicep suddenly twitched. The muscle tore and snapped like a tight rubber band. The weightlifter yelled in pain and grabbed the injury.In Justin's words, the incident was "pretty upsetting." It felt like losing your headphones.

This injury did not look bad at first; it ended in tragedy. Russian powerlifter Igor Golushkin lifted a 400 lb weight with spotters. The weight slipped. No one caught it. The full force hit his chest. The weight tore his diaphragm and broke his ribs; he was rushed to the hospital.He later died there from the trauma, at age thirty-four.

This injury looks better than it does in the previous video.Matthias Steiner dropped weight on his head in the 2012 London Olympics.Matthias Steiner lifted 432 pounds overhead. He buckled and fell back. The weight hit his head and neck hard; cracking sensations were felt. Doctors rushed him for x-rays. He showed no serious injuries. Steiner remains free to lift weights for years.

A good spotter and knowing limits matter. This video shows it clearly. An unknown weightlifter and spotter prepare to bench press heavy weight. It looks too heavy for him. The spotter pulls the weight off the supports. Then, he drops it on the weightlifter! The scene is brutal, almost funny, yet horrifying. We only hope this man was okay.

Kendrick Farris fell during a lift.Arnold Classic Weightlifting CompetitionKendrick Farris performed well at the 2011 Arnold Classic Weightlifting Competition in Columbus, Ohio. He lifted a weight, then lost balance and control. He toppled backward as the weight dropped on him. The video's hardest part might be the delay in a response. Silence fell over the audience. Luckily, he stood up again quickly.

Canadian Kelly Branton competes in the 2016 Raw World Classic Powerlifting Championships. He attempts to lift 415 kg. Things go wrong right away.The spotters could not help move the weight off him.Kelly convulses in pain and falls forward. The weight seriously injured his back. Having well-trained spotters remains key to safety.