There are certain injuries you simply don't come back from, and one would be forgiven thinking a frozen penis is the kind of ailment to put a career on ice for good.
Unless you're Remi Lindholm, that is. The Finnish skier became the talk of the 2022 Winter Olympics when it emerged his penis had frozen mid-race during the 50-kilometre cross-country freestyle in Beijing—and it wasn't even the first time his member had submitted to the frost.
Not even 12 months later, however, Lindholm looks to be fully thawed and enjoying a hot streak after securing gold in the 15km freestyle skiing championship in Tampere last month. The Imatra Athletes representative topped a field of 169 skiers in the intermediate start event
Have you heard of a more perplexing sports injury than Lindholm's iced appendage? Let us know in the comments section.
"A day to remember," recounted Remi on Instagram in a post commemorating his 20.8-second victory. "Thank you so much to everyone for the great messages, for the encouragement at the track and for living in front of the TV [in reference to his friends celebrating his win from home]."
Extra padding around the family jewels might have been recommended if Lindholm is to learn from his experiences. While the small percentages in aerodynamics might count for a lot when it comes to skiing, so too does penile protection in such sub-zero conditions.
The 25-year-old's nether region was nullified in China last year despite Winter Olympics officials reducing the mass start event to just 30 kilometres as a result of the unexpected cold. And spectators can only imagine the kind of dread it inspires to hear 'frostbite' brought up while one's wearing a spandex suit and not much else.
"You can guess which body part was a little bit frozen when I finished," he told Finnish outlet IL in 2022 after finishing 28th in the 50km event in Beijing. "It was one of the worst competitions I've been in. It was just about battling through."
He went on to describe the pain as "unbearable" when his body started to reacclimatise to a normal heat. That temperature-dropping trauma was all the worse considering he'd suffered the same affliction when his penis was terrorised by icy conditions in Ruka (in his native Finland) the previous year.
Lindholm may well add to his medal collection if he features at this year's FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, which just so happen to start on the one-year anniversary of his frozen fracas (Feb. 19). The prospect is already proving stage fright is of no concern after returning to winning ways in his native Finland, with Lindholm now hoping to show the world his considerable cojones as he plots another attempt at Winter Olympics success in 2026.
