30+ Epic Fails Featuring Female Athletes

Athletes are supposed to be well-trained and agile in their respective sports. But, like with anyone else, they are human, and sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. Though this may hinder them from winning, these failures are too epic to ignore. Here are some of the most epic fails made by female athletes from all over the globe!

When athletes are out in the field, the last thing they think about is how their outfits look like. Miho Takagi is a professional speed skater who always looks awesome when ice skating. But, in this case, she should have double-checked her outfit for this race.

Her getup was a bit more transparent than she had planned for and so, her underwear was visible. She could only hope that the spectators were more engaged with her performance than spotting the flaw in her outfit.

Stress and exhaustion are two things that many athletes have to contend with on their big days. Genesis Rodriguez was only 20 years old when she had worked her way into the Pan Am Games in Ontario.

She successfully lifted almost 234 pounds before dropping the barbell behind her and falling unconscious to the floor. At least the weight was dropped before she fainted, otherwise, this would have ended tragically.

All sports require some degree of coordination, but in some, that is what the game is all about. Volleyball is one of these, and if you lose your balance for a brief moment, you might end up with a volleyball hitting you hard in the face.

This volleyball player is a perfect example of such an accident. It looks like it is going to be pretty painful, right? Not only did she get hit by the ball, but her mouth was full of sand too!

Landing on a hard surface like ice is definitely going to leave a mark. This Russian skater seemed to have had a bad day. Maya Khromykh felt the pressure, and you know this because this was not her only fall.

After several falls, the young woman was not going to get her medal. On top of that, we are sure her ego got a little bruised, just like her backside.

The first impression that a skater makes is when they step into the rink. But for Gracie Gold, that was going to be the last good thing she would do in this contest. Unfortunately for her, this epic fail came at the 2014 Olympics.

Because of this fall, she didn’t get a medal at all, which for her was a pretty unusual spot to be in! The good news is that she still has a chance to redeem herself; she just had to make it into the next games!

When you are an athlete, one of the most important things that you are taught is how to be a good sportsman. But sometimes, even with those lessons, it doesn’t show itself in big competitions. That is what makes this epic fail such a triumph.

Though Nikki Hamblin gave up her winning position to help a competitor make it across the line, it still was one heck of a day for her.

There are few names more famous in the world of tennis than Serena Williams. With such a prominent position in the tennis world, you would think she would be a little more gracious when losing a tournament.

But when Simona Halep defeated her, she felt the sting and made it very clear that she was not happy with the outcome! We are sure that she shook the girl’s hand eventually, but she first had a moment of disappointment and made sure that everyone around would notice her displeasure.

Not only does relay racing requires speed, but it also takes good coordination. When you are passing the baton, you want to make sure that your partner has a firm grip before releasing the metal stick. Unfortunately, Allyson Felix had a problem with this.

Though it wasn’t really her fault, it still led to a pretty epic fail for her team. Hopefully, the other runner apologized for bumping into her when the race was over!

Domino bricks are meant to be stacked on top of each other until someone knocks them off. However, that’s not the case with track running. In fact, the last thing you want to do is to fall and bring everyone down with you.

However, these runners must have gotten a little tangled up after the pistol fired. This made it an epic fail for more than one runner, which was great for runners who escaped this epic fail.

There are many things that are going off at the same time when it comes to track and field events. So you have to be super careful to stay in your lane and area, to avoid any unfortunate run-ins.

This athlete, though, didn’t get the memo, or so it appears. Instead, she was all over the place, which was the cause of an epic fail.

There are some sporting events that were just made for epic fails. For those runners that jump over hurdles, they have to be really careful, otherwise, they will fall and cause quite the stir. This is actually rather easy. All it takes is for your legs to be at the wrong angle.

If you are good, you can recover with grace, and this young woman runner did just that. We hope she was okay after this tumble and continued on to have a very successful running career.

Field hockey may not be one of the more popular sports, but it still has a place in the Olympics. The games are intense and can lead to some pretty epic matches and some epic fails. In 2012 New Zealand and US teams were competing when this epic fail went down.

Rachel Dawson and Anita Punt collided and slipped across the field. They recovered eventually, but it definitely left a mark.

Stumbling and tripping is common occurrence when dealing with hurdles. You have to have good awareness, know when the hurdles are, and how the field is organized. When you knock over a hurdle, most runners would try to recover and keep running.

Unfortunately, in 2021, Vania Stambolova from Bulgaria wasn’t able to save herself. She did eventually get up and finish the race, but it was too late. This epic fall was something that everyone would never forget.

There are sports that most people don’t think can get intense. For instance, how many intense badminton games have you seen? They do exist, though, especially when it’s Olympics time, and we have the perfect example.

In 2017, Tai Tzu Ying found herself coming too close to the net. Because of that, she tumbled to the ground and left us with this image of a major failure on her part!

Ice skating is an elegant sport that requires timing, speed, strength, and agility. It may be one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics, which is why this epic fail will live forever.

This ice skater was not paying attention and wound up getting a little too close to the sides of the rink. We certainly hope she was okay when she was recovered!

It is very rare that a runner takes a tumble and bounces back. But, Heather Dorniden did just that in the 600m (1968 ft.) championships. She face-planted during the first lap and still got up and was able to win.

This shows just how some athletes are just dedicated to winning. She is quite the role model for other female athletes, no doubt.

Not everyone can balance on a single leg while gliding over ice on a thin blade. That is why so many people are just amazed by ice skaters. But even those that have years of practice fail occasionally.

Anais Morand was having a sensational performance when she ended up falling. The image that was taken in mid-fall, though, lives on in everyones’ memories for sure! This was a pretty epic fail!

Sometimes the images we catch suggest an impeding epic fail, but ultimately turn out just fine. That is what happened here when Taylor Pischke returned a shot at the Pan Am Games.

Judging by the way she looks, it may have seemed like she was going to have an epic fail moment. In the end, though, she was able to save it! Which was good for her Canadian teammates!

Having good hand-eye coordination is vital in sports like volleyball. If you lose it for just one moment, this could result in an epic fail. This girl found that out the hard way when she was hit in the face by the ball.

This must have hurt pretty bad when she saw the replay on video. Not only did she have to deal with that, but we are sure that the image made its way around her school too!

Any person who decides to compete in swimming competitions will spend tons of time in their swimsuits. This means that they will always have tan lines. But typically, they try to make sure that the lines correspond with the suit they wear during their competitions.

This swimmer didn’t think about that, and it left quite the impression on everyone. Maybe next time, she won’t have such an epic fail!

Though many people question the realism of sports entertainment, it is still a sport, and the women who participate in it are true athletes. But just because they train for years doesn’t make them immune from having complete and utter failures in the ring.

In 2014, AJ Lee had her biggest and most epic fail in a tag team match against Natalya and Tamina. It may have been the fastest tap out known in female wrestling history!

It can be pretty disappointing when you train hard for years for an event that ultimately doesn’t turn out the way you wanted. This runner fell during her first lap and lay there until the race ended.

Morgan Uceny was devastated apparently, but we think that it still showed poor sportsmanship when she walked off the track without a word.

When you were a kid, you were probably told that it is not about the game but rather how much fun you’re having. When you play professional sports, this attitude tends to dissipate quickly. But that was not the case with these two synchronized swimmers.

It seems that though they may not have won, they still wanted to have some fun. This is a great image to remind us all that sports are not only about winning!

Cycling is exhausting and takes a lot of stamina and balance. It can be quite dangerous, especially when riding in a large group. Things like that could happen and take out all your competitors in a blink of an eye.

Na Ah and Fernanda da Silva Sousa cause quite the epic fail when causing an entire team of bikers to end up being piled on top of each other!

If you fall in a race like a steeplechase, you are liable to find yourself in danger of being trampled by the other runners. This is what happened to Clarisse Cruz, and though she feared for her life, she eventually survived.

When all was said and done, she finished the race in 11th place. Though it was an epic fail, at least she finished the race and didn’t even end up in the last place. It’s more than what we would have been able to do.

Tumbling and dancing at the same time make an interesting combination. One misstep and you can end up getting injured and with an epic fail marked down in your scorecard. This young gymnast from Kazakhstan learned it the hard way.

During her floor exercise in the 2012 Olympics, Moldir Azimbay had quite the fall. At least she didn’t get injured! Although she didn’t get her medal also. That means she had the chance to redeem herself down the road!

When you are a weightlifter, you develop your own style. In order to get the weight up, there are many different types of techniques. For Maria Guerrero from Ecuador, her method didn’t pan out very well in the 2012 Olympics.

She found herself unable to keep the weight up in mid pull, and she quickly dropped it hard to the ground. Unfortunately, this led to her being unable to live out her dream of winning an Olympic medal!

Even someone who is considered to be one of the best in their field can have a bad day that leads to an epic fail. Sally Pearson didn’t even think she would get to be a world champion and an Olympic medalist.

Though she didn’t fall or anything, the fact she failed to have a good starting position was enough for her to consider this as an epic fail. Though we think she could have taken it a bit better, we understand her disappointment!

When a human body launches itself into the air, sometimes it may look as if they are falling while flying through the air. This can also lead to an athlete looking like they are tempering with gravity.

But what really seems like an epic fail to us is her look. She looks like she is in shock or utterly afraid for her life. We don’t think that this is how she wants us to remember her, though!

Sometimes we just can’t control our facial expressions. This is especially true when you are in the midst of an intense sports activity.

This tennis player looks like she is ticked off. But that may just be her way of releasing her aggression while struggling to win. Even still, it is an epic fail when it comes to the picture! It did leave us chuckling for a while.