by Coltrane
Whoever doesn’t fall down, wins!
The Summer Olympics are about succeeding and the Winter Olympics are about not failing.
The Winter Olympics:
Figure skating? Whoever doesn’t bobble or fall down wins.
Speed skating? Whoever doesn’t trip over somebody else wins.
Downhill skiing and any of the half-pipe/ moguls/ X-games stuff? Whoever remains upright all the way to the finish wins.
Luge/ Skeleton/ Bobsled? Don’t flip and you may win.
Biathalon? When shooting, don’t miss any targets. Missing a target pretty much ensures that competitor won’t medal.
The Summer Olympics:
The Summer Olympics is about being the best at something, whether it’s running, swimming, throwing, or whatever. When was the last time you saw an athlete lose an opportunity for a medal due to an epic fail?
FlatbreadGarden 
I don’t know if there are any more recent but you can ask my friend Mary Decker-Slaney?
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The Zola Budd/ Decker-Slaney incident involved two women tripping over each other after they’d run more than a mile — 26 years ago.
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The Winter Olympics are enjoyable to watch for that reason.
Another fall that cost a Summer Olympics gold medal, was one made by Brady Quinn’s girlfriend Alicia Sacramone. During the Beijing Olympics, as part of the US womens Gymnastics team, she fell of the balance beam and it opened the door for China to win gold.
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Is don’t screw up the general way you are successful at any non-team sport regardless of summer or winter? I have a hell of a lot more respect for a skier who can stay upright traveling at 60 mph with two pieces of fiberglass strapped to their feet than say someone who golfs. Skiing requires a ton of skill and balance and strength as well as body control. It is the same type of body control you need for any number of track and field events. Losing the body control in something like skiing is just more obvious (read -spectacular wipeout) than it is in something like the discus or javelin.
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