Finnish cross-country skier suffers a FROZEN penis during Winter Olympics 50km race – then uses a heat pack to unthaw it after suffering ‘unbearable pain’
- Remi Lindholm came 28th in the Winter Olympics men’s 50km race on Saturday
- The Finn, 24, spent an hour and 15 minutes in freezing conditions during the race
- It’s the second time in his career that Lindholm has suffered a freezing penis
- Organisers shortened the course by 20km as they were worried about frostbite
The men’s 50km mass start race at the Beijing Games was shortened to 30km but that did little to help Finland’s Remi Lindholm, who needed a heat pack at the end of the race to thaw out a particularly sensitive body part.
Lindholm, 24, spent just under an hour and 16 minutes traversing the course in howling, freezing winds as he finished 28th – four minutes and 22 seconds behind gold-medal winner Alexander Bolshunov from the Russian Olympic Committee.
It led to his penis becoming frozen for the second time in a cross-country skiing race following a similar incident in Ruka, Finland last year.
Remi Lindholm suffered a frozen penis during his Winter Olympics race at the weekend
The Finnish cross-country skier suffered the unfortunate injury during the men’s 50km race
Lindholm (pictured in June 2019) said the freezing conditions made it ‘one of the worst competitions I’ve been in’
Lindholm (pictured in June 2019) described the pain as ‘unbearable’ after his penis unthawed
‘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.
With organisers worried about frostbite during Saturday’s race, it was delayed by an hour and shortened by 20km. The thin suits and under-layers worn by racers, as well as plasters to cover their faces and ears, offered little protection.
Lindholm explained that he used a heat pack to try to thaw out his appendage once the race was over.
‘When the body parts started to warm up after the finish, the pain was unbearable,’ he added.
Cross-country skiing is well known as one of the most brutal sports on the Winter Olympic roster.
Research shows that top athletes burn in excess of 1,000 calories in an hour, and collapsing at the finish line is just another day at the office.
Lindholm finished 28th during the race and had to use a heat pack to thaw out his private parts
Lindholm crosses the line after the event was cut 20km short due to the freezing conditions
Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave came 12th during the race, a minute and 56 seconds off gold, and was left furious that the race was shortened by 20km, despite the conditions.
After the race, Mushgrave said: ‘I thought it was a ridiculous decision.
‘If it’s warm enough to race then I don’t see why doing an hour and a quarter or 30km, compared to two hours in the 50km, makes it any better.
‘It’s still the same temperature, it’s still the same wind.
‘I couldn’t really do anything about that and just had to go out and make the best of it.
‘I’m a little bit annoyed. 50km is meant to be the ultimate endurance race and I felt like it wasn’t quite the same.’
Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave was left incensed by the decision to reduce the race distance
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