We all know that no one is perfect. But for athletes, perfecting their sport is part of the goal. Those who have make it to the Olympics have gone through years of grit and training. Athletes literally pour their sweat and tears into everything they do and the women have to work twice as hard!
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But sports can be a gold mine for people who want funny and embarrassing pictures. Accidents can happen and the intensity of the competition can cause tantrums and start fights. Here are some epic fails featuring female athletes whose misfortunes were unfortunately caught on camera.
Gracie Gold
US skater Gracie Gold looked very elegant and beautiful during the 2014 Winter Olympics. However, the skating beauty fell during her routine on the rink and only got fourth place in the competition. Her epic fall marked the first time that the US had not won a medal in the sport since 1936.
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Although Gold did not live up to her last name, at least she still looked beautiful as she fell. It is probably the most photogenic athletic fail ever caught on camera. The rest of the athletes in this article may not have the same luck.
Rattikan Gulnoi
Thai weightlifting athlete Rattikan Gulnoi is shown exhausted and out of the breath during this aerial shot after she lifted her weights. This photo was taken during the 2012 Olympics in London and you can really feel how heavy those weights were from the way Gulnoi looks.
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Women’s weightlifting is no doubt one of the most challenging sports. The event only takes a few minutes in an athlete’s life but it takes years of training, lifting, dieting, and placement to get to this point.
Rachel Dawson
US field hockey player Rachel Dawson is captured slipping on the wet astroturf during the 2012 London Olympics. You can see Dawson trying to cushion the fall by reaching out her hand to the ground.
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Field hockey is one of the lesser-known sports in the Olympics. It does not get as much attention or coverage but it is a pretty intense game to watch. Luckily, the two athletes were spared from a collision and were able to continue on with the game.
Jemima Sumgong
Kenyan long-distance runner Jemima Sumgong is pictured hitting the floor on what looked like one of those domino effect collisions. Another runner on the far right also seemed to be affected by the collision.
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Athletic runners can run as fast as 15 miles per hour. As Sumgong falls to the floor, it even seems like she was smiling as she hits the ground. It seems like this athlete is taking everything casually even if the landing looked awkward.
Maria Alexandra Escobar Guerrero
Ecuadorian weightlifter Maria Alexandra Escobar Guerrero is pictured during the 2012 Olympics struggling to lift this weight. You can see how every part of her body is struggling to carry that weight.
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Unfortunately, she dropped the weight without reaching the goal but she took the lost well and held her head high right after. You have to commend her fighting spirit though. Before the 2012 Olympics, she had competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics as well.
Morgan Uceny
American track runner Morgan Uceny’s fall during the 2012 Olympics is immortalized through this shot. It looked as if she was in pain, surrounded by the legs and feet of her competitors who are about to leave her behind.
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Turned out that a runner struck Uceny’s knee during the competition, which caused her to fall. Uceny missed the chance to bring a medal back to the USA because of this incident. The fall was a terrible blow as she was already a famous athlete during the time.
Nastia Liukin
American gymnast Nastia Liukin was captured falling face-first on the floor during the 2012 Olympic trials. Liukin was quite known in her field and had started with a promising routine but ended up slipping in the middle of the routine. The slip failed to earn her a place in the next round.
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In Liukin’s defense, she just had a 2-year sabbatical from gymnastics as she was recovering from shoulder injuries. Liukin was able to pick herself up from the fall and finished her routine with poise. Her brave recovery and determination to finish her performance earned her a standing ovation from the audience.
Allyson Felix
The failure of American sprinter Allyson Felix to pass the baton to her teammate during a 4×100 relay was immortalized through this shot. The expression on her face shows her frustration and disappointment when she realizes her mistake.
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Relays require a lot of speed but it is not everything. Accuracy is also needed to pass the baton. It was said that a collision with one of the runners from Brazil caused Felix to drop the baton during this event.
Larisa Iordache
Romanian athlete Larisa Iordache looks like she is about to fall off during this shot. The photo was taken during the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. Anyone who looks at this awkward shot could feel nervous, anticipating the fall.
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Fortunately, the years of training kicked in and Iordache was able to regain her balance and finish her routine. As you can see, it takes a lot of skill, talent, and practice to get you out of these messy situations in sports.
Maya Khromykh
Russian figure skater Maya Khromykh looks in pain as she pulls off this ice skating trick. It takes a lot of flexibility to raise your leg behind you that high. Ice skates are pretty sharp too so she may have ruined her hair with this one.
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The close-up photo had everyone thinking that she might have pulled a muscle during this performance. But the figure skater went on with her routine. Hopefully, her pain was worth it as she won 3rd out of 12 contenders.
Moldir Azimbay
Kazakhstan gymnast Moldir Azimbay was pictured during the 2012 Olympics in the middle of what seemed to be a really bad fall. The way her neck was bent can make anyone cringe.
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This fall had caused her a chance of getting a medal that year. Thankfully, the fall was not as bad as the way the picture caught it and Azimbay was not able to get any serious injuries from it. Hopefully, she was able to recover well from this unfortunate incident.
Torri Edwards
American runner Torri Edwards was pictured in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with an expression of frustration on her face as she failed to pass the baton to her teammate. She realized that she dropped the baton and she’s not being dramatic though.
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It takes a lot of training, effort, and agony to physically prepare for the Olympics. Losing the chance to win a medal because of something as easy as passing a baton can be difficult to accept for these athletes.
Sally Pearson
Australian athlete and Olympic champion Sally Pearson is quite popular in track and field as she is known to be one of the best hurdlers in the world. But even an athlete of her level has her share of ups and downs.
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This photo captures Pearson’s frustration and disappointment when she realized that she came up short in a track meet. For someone who has been pushing herself to the limit for the sport, she did not take this failure lightly.
Sarah McCarthy
Sarah McCarthy of Ireland proves that there is nothing glamorous about long jumping as a sport with this unfortunate shot. Here, it looks like McCarthy had a rough and painful landing and we just hope that this one did not leave a mark.
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There are no style points in long jumping. The athletes are mainly focused on launching their bodies as far as they can. How they land is far from their minds so you can find a lot of awkward landings in this sport.
Vania Stambolova
Bulgarian athlete Vania Stambolova was pictured in the middle of a stumble as she tripped over the hurdle during the 2012 Olympics. What made this shot more embarrassing is the fact that she stumbled over the first hurdle in the race.
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Stambolova did not get any injuries but the fall took up a lot of time and it seemed impossible for her to catch up. She had to admit defeat in the end – it did not help that her last name sounded like “stumble” too. At least her face was not seen in the shot, right?
Gabrielle Douglas
Even the world champion US gymnast Gabrielle Douglas is not immune to failure. In this shot, Douglas had slipped from the gym but she continues to hang on to it, maintaining her composure as she faced the challenge.
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This just shows that no matter how many times you practice performance and no matter how good you are, there will always be a chance that a mistake can be made. As we mentioned earlier, nobody is perfect.
Solana Peryra
In this match between Argentina and the USA, Argentinian goalie Solana Peryra was captured as if she was running away from the ball instead of running towards it. Even if she was attempting to block the ball, which is her job, the angles just did not work in this shot.
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It was as if this goalkeeper was trying to get out of the way as the opposing team tries to score. In the end, the US team won this match with a score of 6-0. Given the way this goalie has been acting, there is no need to wonder why.
Alexandra Yevstyunina
Russian athlete Alexandra Yevstyunina was captured in the middle of a long-jump landing during the 30th Russian Winter track and field tournament. And the expression on her face just says it all. It was as if she is just tired of everything and decided to dive into a pool of sand.
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You barely get to see a graceful landing during a long jump event. Athletes concentrate on lunging their bodies as far as they can so they barely think about the way they land. In fact, you will be able to see a lot of awkward photos when it comes to this event.
Sandra Toft
Danish goalkeeper Sandra Toft was able to block this goal shot while successfully saving her face. This quick reaction saved the opposing team from scoring and saved her from going to the hospital at the same time. Unfortunately, this athletic save did not register well in the camera.
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There is no doubt that it is not easy being a goalkeeper. You are not wearing enough protection and your face is vulnerable to getting hit by a speeding ball. Getting hit on the face can easily break your nose.
Jennifer Pinches
Jennifer Pinches, a gymnast from Great Britain, gets captured hanging onto a bar during the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. It looks like she was not able to live up to her last name as she struggled not to fall from the bar.
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Most gymnasts use chalk on their hands so that they can get a better grip on the pole, beam, or bar during their performance. But this time, it looked like the chalk did not help her at all. It looked like Pinches had been sweating, which made the chalk wet.
Clarisse Cruz
Portuguese athletic runner Clarisse Cruz looks like she was about to get trampled in this shot during a steeplechase event in the Olympics. Despite the fall, Cruz was able to finish 11th that year with a time of 9 minutes and 32 seconds.
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The steeplechase is like a mini obstacle course and is considered to be one of the most difficult events in the Olympics. The obstacles are spread out on a 3000-meter track field. Completing one is already a feat.
Serena Williams
Even tennis superstar Serena Williams gets frustrated on the court. Here, you could see a bitter expression immortalized through this photograph as Williams gets defeated by rival Simona Halep during a match.
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You might think from this picture that Williams is the type who hates to lose but she can handle her downs well. Williams later admitted in an interview that she was aware that she was a bit shaky during her second set. She also commended her rival for playing so well.
Anais Morand
Swiss pair skater Anais Morand was captured in this photo attempting to regain her balance before she falls. The result gives us an awkward and funny photo that would probably haunt her and her career as a figure skater for the rest of her life.
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This picture was taken during the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships pairs. During the competition, Morand was performing with her partner, Antoine Dorsaz Sui. Their silly getup just added more awkwardness to the photo.
Heather Dorniden
American runner Heather Dorniden looks like she is being trampled as a competitor’s foot was so close to her head during a hard fall. This photo was taken during the 2008 Big 10 Indoor Track Championships and it was the last lap during a 600-meter race.
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Although this shot spelled out failure, Dorniden ended up winning this race! While most athletes would throw tantrums on the field, she got back up and was able to catch up with the competition. You got to admire her resilience and her determination to win!
Nicole Cardano-Hillary
Indiana basketball player Nicole Cardano-Hillary looks like she was crying for help in this shot as she was being framed by players from the Michigan team. It was as if she was not ready to have the ball at all.
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You could see the despeation in her eyes and it looks like her teammates came to the rescue. Th final score of the match was 70 to 65 and Indiana at least had their victory over Michigan. Unfortunately for Cardano-Hillary, this photo is not a winning shot.
Genesis Gomez Rodriguez
Venezuelan weightlifter Genesis Gomez Rodriguez gave everyone a scare during the 2015 Pan Am Games in Ontario, Canada. She had completed lifting the weights above her head when she suddenly collapsed and fainted while she was still lifting the weights. This photo captured her as she was about to hit the floor.
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Fortunately, the weights fell behind her and not on her. Otherwise, she would have suffered from serious injuries. Rodriguez was able to make a quick recovery and had her chance to participate again. She ended up getting the silver medal.
Olivia Vivian
Australian gymnast Olivia Vivian is captured in the air with a terrified look on her face. This shot was taken at the 2014 All-Around Women’s Final. It looked like Vivian had lost control while she was performing at the balance beam and had ruined her performance.
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Although this picture looks very unfortunate, Vivian was able to place 5th overall during this competition. With a score of 13, she managed to be the highest-scoring Australian gymnast in the competition.