In downhill and Super-G, it is an obligation. During these 2026 Winter Olympics, as during all major competitions, skiers will carry an airbag on their back. Essential equipment for their safety which is triggered in the event of a fall to cushion the shock and avoid bodily trauma.
Decided ahead of the 2024-2025 season, the wearing of the airbag had created discord among skiers, with around forty of them obtaining an exemption so as not to have it on their back during competitions. “Some skiers were strongly opposed to it, they threatened to leave the competition if they had to wear it because the product did not suit them,” explained FIS president Johan Eliasch at the time.
This season, the obligation is real. In its new regulations, the French Ski Federation also writes that “for athletes selected in the World Cup and European Cup, the use of the airbag is obligatory” during speed events, downhill and Super-G therefore. It is also “highly recommended” from the U18 category.
“A box with sensors”
And to protect themselves as best as possible, skiers can count on a French company based in Annecy, “In&motion Airbags”, which has been manufacturing these protective vests since 2019. “It is mainly there to limit the impact during shocks,” explains Dorian Rainaud, competition manager for the brand, to France Bleu. It’s a bit like a helmet, but for the body. It is based on trauma studies. We study how people get injured and thus we adapt the equipment. For example, for skiers, we prioritize vital areas, such as the abdomen, thorax, neck and back. »
The Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, double world champion, was notably saved by this equipment during training at the start of the season. “The airbag system is based on an electronic box located on the athlete’s back,” explains Dorian Rainaud. And in this box, there are intelligent sensors and algorithms which are capable, at a rate of 1,000 calculations per second, of detecting an unrecoverable fall situation. In this case, the algorithm gives the order to trigger the airbag, it inflates and protects the athlete. »
“Zero risk will never exist”
And it can save cities. “A descender without an airbag is the same thing as a motorcyclist without a helmet: for me, it’s incomprehensible,” says Stéphane Bulle, doctor of the French team, speaking to L’Équipe. Some athletes are bothered by this equipment? We also said that about car seat belts when they first appeared. The airbag can prevent serious injuries. The guys and girls are almost naked on skis and speeding along at 130 miles an hour. »
The danger remains despite everything. Because this airbag cannot protect against all impacts. “Unfortunately, zero risk will never exist in skiing,” regrets Antoine Dénériaz, Olympic downhill champion in 2006, to Le Figaro. In Formula 1 or rallying, the drivers are in a streamlined car, they are protected. When skiing, we have no protection. You have to maintain a certain mobility, ease of movement. You can’t have a full airbag, you can’t be stuck. You can’t have a 3 kg helmet on your head either. There are physical and physiological movement constraints which, unfortunately, mean that we cannot have all the possible protections. »
