SKI PRESENTER CHEMMY ALCOTT SUFFERS COLLAPSED LUNG IN LAKE JUMP

Chemmy Alcott, a former GB Olympic skier and Ski Sunday presenter, suffered a collapsed lung after jumping from a five-metre platform into Lake Annecy in the French Alps whilst on holiday in France. The 44-year-old posted video footage on Instagram showing her jump and difficult landing. She initially returned to the platform to jump again out of embarrassment before realising she could not breathe properly and sought medical attention. Alcott was treated in hospital with a chest drain and spent several nights as an inpatient.

In the social media post, Alcott described the injury as "quite a long way to discover you've got the rotation wrong" after a badly timed front flip. A collapsed lung, medically known as pneumothorax, occurs when air becomes trapped between the lung and chest wall. The injury resulted from blunt trauma when her chest struck the water. Having fallen from five metres, Alcott was travelling at approximately 20 miles per hour upon impact. Blunt trauma injuries occur without the skin being broken or pierced, yet can cause severe damage to bones, muscles and internal organs.

Alcott wrote in her caption that the incident "didn't end well" and described it as "a very expensive lesson in rotation". She also posted hospital images showing medical equipment attached to her body. The presenter stated she had "absolutely loved Annecy" but was uncertain whether the location "loved me back".