Attention all thrill seekers and path makers: while most sports have an element of danger, a few test your mettle even when watching someone else do them. Are you wondering, “What is the most dangerous sport?” Here’s an in-depth look at some of the most exhilarating — but dangerous — sports.
Defining Danger in Sports
Given the physicality needed for most sports, there’s almost always an inherent danger involved in participating in one. However, in areas like the risk of injury and fatality, the level of danger varies widely between each individual sport.
Many of the sports on this list come with a variety of frightening possibilities, including spinal injuries, broken bones, brain injuries, and so much more. But extreme sports athletes participate despite these dangers, prepared and trained to mitigate the risks as much as possible.
Injury Rates and Long-Term Health Effects
How often and badly the participant could get injured is tied directly to its danger level. Long-term health effects from a sports injury include cognitive decline, chronic pain, and even disability.
If you’re chasing the next big adrenaline spike, you could argue that it’s worth the risk. But most of us are content watching in awe as people defy all bodily signals to chase that feeling.
Fatalities and Life-Threatening Situations
Some sports have higher fatality rates or higher chances of putting a person in a life-threatening situation. As a result, they automatically qualify as more dangerous. BASE jumpers, for example, have a 1 in 2,317 chance of dying, compared to another relatively dangerous sport, swimming, where the chance of death falls to 1 in 56,587.
That’s an enormous difference that proves BASE jumping to be much more dangerous. Even with the inherent danger of a sport, factors like a lack of training, structural problems, and not listening to one’s own body can put an athlete at a significantly higher risk.
Top 6 Contenders for the Most Dangerous Sport
So what is the most dangerous sport in the world? Many fit the brief, but these sports truly take nerves of steel.
1. BASE Jumping
BASE jumping is riddled with ways for things to go wrong at every turn. Equipment failures, collision with objects, and its unforgiving nature make it a clear choice for one of the most dangerous sports.
And as previously mentioned, it has an exceedingly high fatality rate. As electrifying as BASE jumping might be, falling from the sky certainly isn’t for the faint of heart.
2. Bull Riding
To no one’s surprise, bulls are very dangerous. These animals are massive and strong, with some reaching over 2,000 pounds. But one of the more unnerving factors of this sport is how unpredictable the bulls can be. Riders often wear protective gear like mouthguards or protective vests, but there’s only so much you can do to prevent a broken bone in a sport like this. Since 1990, there have been 43 documented deaths of professional bull riders during a rodeo event.
3. Big Wave Surfing
Big-wave surfing is dedicated to those looking for mammoth waves and thrills. The bigger the wave, the more powerful it is — and the more danger you will be held underwater for long periods. These risks mean big-wave surfers need the skill set to escape harrowing scenarios.
4. Mountain Climbing
Mountain climbing isn’t necessarily high-octane the entire time, like bull riding or BASE jumping. But once you account for altitude sickness, falling, challenging weather conditions, and avalanches, you start to see why this sport isn’t for everyone.
A mountain climber doesn’t only need to be fearless. They also need mental insight and knowledge of life-threatening situations if they want to come back down in one piece.
5. Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts
Boxing and mixed martial arts are sports where you fight another person. So it’s pretty clear there’s a high potential for severe and even life-altering injuries.
These fighters often take hits to the head, leaving them vulnerable to brain injuries and concussions that can cause problems on contact or over time. Some boxing and MMA organizations require protective gear like mouthguards, but understanding each fighter’s physical and mental health is crucial to ensuring everyone’s safety.
Between 1890 and 2011, it’s estimated that 1,604 boxers died as a direct result of injuries sustained in the ring, which is an average of 13 deaths a year. The 2000s saw a decrease in boxing-related deaths, with 103 reported deaths. A 2009 report estimated a fatality rate in boxing of 0.13 deaths per 1,000 participants per year
6. Motorsports
Those with an insatiable need for speed often find themselves in the wondrous world of motorsports. Going as fast as a motorsports professional is exciting but also insanely dangerous.
They’re constantly milliseconds away from crashing at extremely high speeds or an equipment failure. And in a sport like this, even the smallest wrench thrown into a situation can derail a driver and have deadly consequences.
What Is the Most Dangerous Sport in the World? The Ultimate Showdown
While they’re fundamentally very different, the two contenders for the top spot would likely be mountain climbing and BASE jumping. BASE jumping’s danger primarily comes from the higher likelihood of a fatality. The distance between you and the ground is relatively short. Thus, even a slight delay in releasing your parachute can be disastrous.
For mountain climbing, you’re fighting for your life against harsh environments and obstacles, constantly having to adjust for things you weren’t prepared for.
Mountaineering has an even higher chance of death, with roughly 1% of everyone who attempts it not making it.
The winner, based on multiple risk factors, is mountain climbing. BASE jumping is a very close second but a much more straightforward danger. When struggling to climb a mountain, there are simply so many more dangerous variables you could encounter that don’t exist in the few seconds after you BASE jump.
Even if you make it to the top, everything that bars your path on your way back down the mountain could create so many dangerous scenarios for you. It’s one of those sports that requires brains, brawn, and an insurmountable amount of bravery.
Celebrating the Most Dangerous Sports and the Athletes Who Dare
Readers like yourself inspire these brave athletes to continue to push the boundaries of human possibilities. And if it’s the excitement you’re after, you can find a job that takes your life in a more thrilling direction by applying for a career in sports.
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