Ben Cohen gets twenty stitches in his face after crash landing on The Jump
The former rugby player was taken to hospital after damaging his teeth and bottom lip during ski jump training on the Channel 4 reality show
Former rugby pro Ben Cohen has had to have twenty stitches in his face after crash landing during training for Channel 4’s The Jump.
Cohen – who himself joined as a replacement for the ever-growing list of injured contestants – was practicing ski jumping at the training center in Natters, Austria. The sportsman had successfully landed a jump from the middle height, but didn’t stop quickly enough, slamming into the pads at the end of the landing run.
The collision damaged some of Cohen’s teeth and split his lip. He was seen immediately by the on-site medics, but was later taken to hospital where he clocked up twenty stitches.
It’s not ruled Cohen out of the competition and he’s eager to do well in this weekend’s Ski Cross event and make it to this year’s final.
“I had a collision during jump training, which resulted in me hurting my mouth,” he said. “I've spent my entire career taking knocks so this is nothing new for me. I won't let this stop me on semi-final week. I've had a couple of days to recuperate and I will carry on. I hope to get to the final and win that cowbell trophy.”
Cohen’s certainly not the first to take a trip to the doctors. If Austrian hospitals have some sort of Clubcard system then The Jump is really racking up the points. Former Olympic swimmer Becky Adlington dislocated her shoulder ahead of the first show, former gymnastics pro Beth Tweddle needed major surgery on her neck and fellow back-up contestant Joe Swash chipped a bone in his shoulder days after arriving.
There’s just two more weeks until the celebs can pack up their skis and go home. One with an extra bit of cowbell-shaped hand luggage, others with bandages...
See The Jump semi-final this Sunday from 8:00pm on Channel 4
