Finnish skier suffers frozen penis during event at Beijing Olympics
Remi Lindholm of Finland in action competes during the men´s 15km classic cross-country skiing during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at The National Cross-Country Skiing Centre on February 11, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Tom Weller/VOIGT/
BEIJING - A Finnish skier competing in a men's cross-country skiing race at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing suffered damage to his equipment on Saturday, but just not what you might expect, according to a report.
Remi Lindholm, 24, of Finland, spent over an hour traversing the shortened men's 50km mass start free race in brutal temperatures and howling winds, causing his penis to become frozen, Reuters reported.
"You can guess which body part was a little bit frozen when I finished ... it was one of the worst competitions I've been in," Lindholm told Finnish media. "It was just about battling through."
The 50km race was first delayed by an hour and then shortened to 30km to protect the competitors, who wore thin suits that offered little protection from the wind and cold weather.
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Organizers had been worried about frostbite, according to the news organization.
After the race, Lindholm said he needed a heat pack to thaw out his downstairs appendage.
"When the body parts started to warm up after the finish, the pain was unbearable," he added.
Despite the injury, Lindholm still managed to place 28th in the 60-skier event.
He finished with a time of just under an hour and 16 minutes -- about four minutes slower than Alexander Bolshunov of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), who won gold in the event.
Lindholm noted it was the second time his penis became frozen during a cross-country skiing race.
A similar incident happened in Ruka, Finland, last year, he said, according to Reuters.
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