A Finnish cross-country skier suffered a "frozen" penis while competing at the Beijing Olympics and required medical help to stand up on his feet after the race. Skier Remi Lindholm needed a heat pack on Saturday to thaw out his frozen penis after completing in the men's 50 km cross-country race, which was shortened to 30 kilometers owing to extreme weather conditions.
The Beijing Olympics, which concluded on Sunday, has been one of the most talked-about sporting events in recent times but for all the wrong reasons. The event was mired in controversy including doping scandal and participants complaining about poor living conditions.
Strange Attack
The 50-km cross-country race was postponed by an hour and shortened by 20 kilometers on Saturday owing to concerns about frostbite. Racers wore thin suits and underlayers, as well as plasters to shield their faces and ears, yet they were vulnerable.
However, something different happened altogether. If doping and allegations of sub-standard food and living conditions for participants was not enough, weather played spoilsport on the penultimate day of the games. This time Lindholm was the victim after he suffered a frozen penis in the middle of the shortened cross-country race.
Medical team was seen rushing toward the Finnish skier who struggled to walk after suffering a frozen penis, according to reports. Lindholm started the race fully fit and then traversed the course. However, he had to complete the race in howling, cold winds which he did in just under an hour and 16 minutes.
However, the chilling winds caused Lindholm's penis to freeze. This is the second time such an incident has happened in a cross-country skiing race, after a similar incident was reported last year in Ruka in Finland.
"You can guess which body part was a little bit frozen when I finished (the men's Olympic 50km race) ... it was one of the worst competitions I've been in. It was just about battling through," he told Finnish media.
Strange Condition
The athlete said that it was a strange situation and he didn't know what to do. His focus was on finishing the race, which he did but in extreme pain. "When the body parts started to warm up after the finish, the pain was unbearable," Lindholm said, according to Reuters.
Lindholm was placed 28th out of 61 competitors in this year's event, with a time of 1:15:55:6, according to figures posted on the official Olympics website. The frozen penis certainly played a major role in deciding his position.
The Russian Olympic Committee's Alexander Bolshunov and Ivan Yakimushkin claimed first and second place, respectively, while Norway's Simen Hegstad Krueger took bronze.
Lindholm also competed in this year's Winter Olympics in the men's 15km classic and men's 15km + 15km skiathlons, finishing 45th out of 99 athletes and 25th out of 70 competitors, respectively.
