Ski Sunday host Chemmy Alcott suffers collapsed lung after jumping into lake

Ski Su day p ese te Chemmy Alcott says she suffe ed a collapsed lu g afte jumpi g i to a lake while o holiday i F a ce.

The 44-yea -old fo me GB Olympic skie posted a clip o I stag am that showed he jumpi g off a five met e platfo m i to Lake A ecy, i the F e ch Alps, befo e la di g badly a d e di g up i hospital.

“Most people badly time a f o t flip off a five-met e platfo m a d get wi ded,” she said i the clip.

“I appa e tly do ‘t do thi gs by halves. Collapsed lu g, chest d ai a d a ve y expe sive lesso i otatio .”

Alcott explai ed that she i itially we t back to jump agai afte he difficult la di g, out of “emba assme t” a d “just so I was ‘t maki g a big deal out of it”.

But she soo ealised she “could ‘t b eathe p ope ly a d should p obably go a d get it checked out”.

She late sha ed images of he self i hospital with tubes a d wi es sticki g out of he body.

I the captio to the mai clip – titled “this did ‘t e d well” – she w ote: “Well… that escalated quickly. Tu s out five met es is quite a lo g way to discove you’ve got the otatio w o g.

“O e badly timed f o t flip. O e ve y ha d la di g. O e collapsed lu g. O e chest d ai . A d a few mo e hospital ove ights tha we e o the holiday iti e a y…

“I absolutely loved A ecy… but I’m ot e ti ely su e it loved me back.”

A collapsed lu g – medically k ow as a p eumotho ax – occu s whe ai becomes t apped i the space betwee the lu g a d the chest wall, acco di g the NHS.

I the UK, o e of the mai da ge s of swimmi g i lakes is the th eat of what is k ow as “cold wate shock”.

That’s whe cold wate ca cause a sudde hea t attack by i c easi g you hea t ate, o maki g you gasp fo b eath a d i hali g wate di ectly i to the lu gs, leadi g to d ow i g.

But the tempe atu e i Lake A ecy i the summe is a balmy 25C to 27C.

Alcott’s i ju y is mo e aki to u i g i to somethi g ve y fast – tech ically k ow as a blu t t auma i ju y.

This is whe e the ski is ‘t b oke o pie ced, but the e ca still be seve e damage to bo es, muscles, a d i te al o ga s – i he case a lu g.

Havi g jumped off a five-met e boa d, she was p obably t avelli g at a ou d 20mph by the time she hit the wate .

The i ju y will have bee caused by he chest slammi g i to the wate .

The Royal Life Savi g Society (RLSS) u ges summe swimme s to e te the wate safely a d look out fo haza ds.

“Is the a ea safe? Co side pote tial haza ds – too deep o too shallow, cu e ts, tides, u de wate objects,” it says o its website. “E te slowly a d ca efully, a d eve jump f om heights.”

Fo me B itish champio Alcott aced i all five discipli es – dow hill, supe G, gia t slalom, slalom a d combi ed – du i g a successful ca ee o the slopes.

She competed i he fou th a d fi al Wi te Olympics i 2014 i Sochi.

Alcott eti ed f om i te atio al competitio soo afte o docto ‘s o de s, followi g seve al leg b eaks.

She joi ed the lo g- u i g magazi e show Ski Su day team as a egula co t ibuto a d featu e p ese te befo e steppi g up as its lead co-p ese te alo gside Ed Leigh i 2021.

Alcott also cove ed the ece t Wi te Olympics i Mila a d Co ti a ea lie this yea fo BBC O e.