Most Dangerous Sports in the World

When many people think of dangerous sports, the first ones that come to mind are football, hockey and any other combat sport. The collisions and brutality of these sports are as clear as day as they are with virtually any contact sport.

But there are dangers involved in lots of sports, and they’re ones that may not be apparent to the casual fan. Instead of collisions and contact being the problem, these dangers can come in the form of predators, opponents, equipment, overuse, and even physics can pose hazards to the athletes involved. Non-contact sports sometimes have even more dangers than contact ones and can lead to injuries ranging from strains and sprains to more serious catastrophes such as paralysis and even death.

So consider yourself warned. These are the 30 most dangerous sports. 

Dangers involved: Falling

No. of annual accidents/deaths: 70,000 annual trips to ER

As with most things, the higher risks a skateboarder takes, the greater likelihood of serious injury. Of course, there are the cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises that can come from falling off your skateboard, but there are also more catastrophic injuries such as what Jake Brown suffered in 2007.

Brown was competing in the Summer X Games in a Big Air event on a quarterpipe ramp. But he lost his board on the way up one side, leaving his own legs as the only thing he could land on. Brown ended up falling nearly 45 feet onto the bottom of the ramp and suffered a ruptured spleen, fractured vertebrae, fractured wrist, bruised liver, bruised lung and a concussion.

Dangers involved: Opponents, Equipment

No. of annual accidents/deaths: 45 injuries per 100,000 annual participants

Paintballing allows for heavy padding, but you can’t cover up everything. When players are shot by paintballs, and they elude the padding, bruises and welts are often left behind, lasting from days to weeks. Commercial venues often mandate rules that players can’t shoot an opponent within 15 feet, but it would be extremely naive to believe that everyone follows those rules, leading to more injuries. 

The most serious of injuries related to paintballing have been shots to the head. Many people have even suffered permanent eye damage from getting shot during moments when their helmets were off.