Chemmy Alcott Suffers Collapsed Lung After Jumping into Alpine Lake
14th August 2026
The 44-year-old former British No 1 Ski racer and Ski Sunday presenter jumped off a 5m platform into Lake Annecy in the French Alps. She landed badly and ended up in hospital. NEW
She is a seven-time British champion and raced in all five ski disciplines – downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom and combined.
She remains the only British female alpine skier to win a run in a World Cup race.
She competed in her fourth and final Winter Olympics in 2014 in Sochi, then retired from international competition on medical advice.
“Most people badly time a front flip off a five-metre platform and get winded,” she said.
“I apparently don’t do things by halves. Collapsed lung, chest drain and a very expensive lesson in rotation.”
Alcott explained that she initially went back to jump again after her difficult landing, out of “embarrassment” and “just so I wasn’t making a big deal out of it”.
But she soon realised she “couldn’t breathe properly and should probably go and get it checked out”.
She later shared images of herself in hospital with tubes and wires sticking out of her body.
View this post on Instagram
She joined Ski Sunday as a regular contributor and feature presenter before being appointed as its lead co-presenter with Ed Leigh in 2021.
Earlier this year, she covered the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina for the BBC.
PlanetSKI: Number 1 for digital ski news
Your digital platform for ski news, resort information, travel, equipment rental, sport, money saving deals and everything connected with snowsports – web site, social media & more.
