Shadowing Practice: The Most Terrifying Sport Injuries Ever - Learn English Speaking with Video
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116 sentences
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Bloody Pool.
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Greg Laganus is the greatest diver on the planet, but he has been hiding a deadly secret.
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During the Summer Olympics in 1988, when it's Greg's turn to dive, things go wrong in the worst possible way.
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He miscalculates, so the moment Greg jumps, he brutally slams his head into the edge of the diving board.
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For a few seconds after he hits the water, everyone wonders if he's ever going to resurface.
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Surprisingly, Greg does come up only with a copious amount of blood pouring from a gash in his head into the water.
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He is quickly pulled from the pool as the medical staff rushes in.
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The team doctor stitches the wound right there with bare hands, no gloves.
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The place is a total mess and Greg says nothing.
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What the doctor doesn't know is that he is now exposed.
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Six months before these games, Greg received news that was practically a death sentence at that time.
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He tested positive for HIV, and he told no one.
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Not his coach, not the Olympic committee.
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So no one knew
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that the next diver was about to compete in water mixed with HIV -positive blood because the pool was never drained.
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If he's got a cut, But he's about to get HIV, too.
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As for Greg, he climbed back onto that same board 35 minutes later, nailed the dive and won gold,
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carrying a secret that wouldn't surface for another seven years.
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Inside Out It's the 2007
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World Championships in Japan.
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All eyes are on the men's javelin final, and in the middle of the field is French long jumper Salim Sidiri,
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who has no idea what's about to hit him literally.
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On the other side of the field, Tero Pitkamaki is one of Finland's best throwers.
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He's done this thousands of times, just run, plant, release, easy peasy.
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But on this throw, something goes catastrophically wrong.
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During Pitkamaki's third round, the javelin goes off at the wrong angle, and instead of arcing up and out toward the landing spot,
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it flies low and fast straight into the warm -up area.
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In a blink, the javelin strikes Sidiri on the right side of his back.
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When the camera zooms in, you see it stuck into his body.
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All eyes turn back to Pitkamaki, who's standing there with his hands covering his face in shock.
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When an ambulance was called immediately and after Sidiri was assessed, reports surprisingly said it was just a small bruise but those reports were wrong.
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Turns out Sidiri was only an inch away from a brutal death.
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You see, the javelin had actually gone deep enough to pierce Sidiri's liver and right kidney,
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and if it had landed just two more centimeters to the left, it would have cut through his aorta, killing him on the spot.
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Still, the injuries were serious, and it didn't look like he'd survive, but after a long surgery and just one day in the hospital,
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Zederi miraculously made it out alive.
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Defeating the Undefeated Pritchard Colon is the 16 -0 undefeated champ,
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a rising super welterweight with a future that looks bulletproof.
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One October night in Virginia, he steps into the ring with Terrell Williams.
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But this is not an ordinary boxing match.
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From the first round, Cologne complains that he's deliberately getting hit in the back of the head many times, and the referee, Joe Cooper,
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is just standing there like watching an entertainment show.
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Round after round, Williams hammers the back of Cologne's skull, and he keeps taking the hits.
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By the ninth round, Cologne stumbles back to his corner, and he tells his trainer he can't see.
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His gloves are taken off, and the fight is stopped.
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But trust me, this was just the start.
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He was immediately taken to a hospital, and when an emergency surgery was performed,
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the doctor found a brain bleed so severe that part of his skull had to be removed.
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He slipped into a coma for an entire year, only to wake up and never be able to move or even speak.
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His family sued everyone, the referee, the ringside doctor, and even the Virginia Boxing Commission.
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They argue that the fight should have been stopped, at least before he lost his eyes.
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The other fighter, Williams, never apologizes, only saying he feels sad about it.
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Because in some sports, regret is the refund they hand you after the damage is done.
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If you thought the incidents so far were disturbing, things are about to get way more gruesome.
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So hit that subscribe button and let's dive into the next story.
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Wall in Turn 4.
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Meet Dale Earnhardt.
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In the Daytona 500 event in February 2001, the pack was flying into Turn 4 when Dale Earnhardt's black
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Chevrolet made contact with Sterling Marlin.
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Instantly, he lost control and slammed head -on into the outside wall at over 150 miles per hour.
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When the safety crew reached the car, Earnhardt wasn't moving.
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They tried waking him, but still nothing happened.
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The ambulance quickly wheeled him to the hospital.
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There, it turns out he snapped his neck so bad that his brain got detached from the spinal cord, killing him on the spot.
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Here's the part that makes it worse.
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He didn't die going for first place.
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He wasn't there for the medal.
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Dale Earnhardt, seven -time champion, was doing what he did best, blocking other cars for his teammates running first and second.
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He was just stalling so his teammates could win.
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Just so you know, his son, Dale Jr., was in that race.
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He finished second, only to hear that his pops was gone before reaching the finish line.
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The Olympic Luge.
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Just a few hours to the opening ceremony of the 2010
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Olympics, Nodar Kumaratashvili is on the ice taking his final practice run.
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He launches with the starting position on the Whistler Sliding Center and within seconds he's moving at 89 miles an hour,
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making it through the early curves.
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But as he gets close to turn 16, his sled drifts high on the wall.
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This particular turn is called a 50 -50 turn,
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as in you have a 50 -50 chance of making it through without smashing your head into the wall.
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So, Noder tries to correct it, but at that speed, he can't even hold anything.
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Before anyone could react, the sled slams into the wall and flips, throwing Noder off the track.
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For a while, Noder spins in the air, and he hits a steel support beam at full speed.
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Paramedics rush in immediately, performing CPR on the ice, but the impact proved fatal, so there was nothing they could do to save him.
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But you see, in the weeks leading up to the games, multiple athletes had already crashed on this particular track.
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Racers were clocking speeds the sport had never seen, and they were telling officials the course was beyond the limit of human control.
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The officials listened, nodded, but changed nothing.
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No one was charged, not even the Olympics.
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The Georgian team stays and competes in this honor, winning both the gold and silver medals.
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The Yurchenko Vault.
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In some cases, the most twisted turns cause the most twisted deaths.
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15 -year -old Yulisa Gomez is practicing a Yurchenko vault, which is one of the most dangerous skills in gymnastics.
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It's her only shot if she's going to win a gold medal at the 1988
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World Sport Fair.
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But I mean, you've got to run backwards, hit a springboard blind, and throw yourself over a vaulting horse.
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There's zero room for error.
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But Julissa shouldn't have been on that runway at all.
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She's still young and her Yurchenko is inconsistent.
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She isn't ready, but the skill scores high, the system rewards whoever attempts it, and gymnasts don't get medals for playing it safe.
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And because this was just a warm -up, everyone's guard was down.
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So Julissa Jaleesa runs, plants her foot into the floor, but she misses the springboard by two inches.
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Her trajectory is totally off, and instead of clearing the vault, she slams her head into it at full speed.
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Immediately the paramedics circled her.
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They saw something really awful.
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Jaleesa's neck had snapped back really badly, and she crumpled to the mat.
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She could not move, just lying there paralyzed from the neck down.
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Luckily, Julissa didn't die at the spot, and the doctors were able to rearrange her spine enough to straighten her back.
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Unfortunately, they couldn't fix her spinal cord, so she couldn't walk again.
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In fact, Julissa could not move her hand by herself.
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She breathed with a ventilator, ate through a tube, and for the next three years, that would be her life.
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However, However, during a routine check -in, a nurse accidentally disconnects Julissa's ventilator.
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Her brain is starved of oxygen and it takes nearly five minutes before anyone notices.
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And sadly, just two weeks later, she flatlines.
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Julissa was 18.
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After her death, USA Gymnastics banned everyone from doing the Yurchenko vault on the old style vaulting horse.
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They replaced it with a new and safer table design, but it took a dead teenager to make them do it.
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If you enjoyed this video, I have way more unsettling true stories to share, like this one.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Most Terrifying Sport Injuries Ever”. This video has 116 sentences and 1535 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:09. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| vault noun | /vɑlt/ | An arched masonry structure supporting and forming a ceiling, whether freestanding or forming part of a larger building. |
| medal noun | /ˈmɛdəl/ | A stamped metal disc used as a personal ornament, a charm, or a religious object. |
| dive verb | /daɪv/ | To swim under water. |
| slam verb | /ˈslæm/ | To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise. |
| rush verb | /ɹʌʃ/ | To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully. |
| compete verb | /kəmˈpiːt/ | To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend. |
| twist verb | /twɪst/ | To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force. |
| snap verb | /snæp/ | To fracture or break apart suddenly. |
| surprisingly adverb | /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/ | In a way that causes surprise because it is unexpected, or unusual. |
| ambulance noun | /ˈæmbjᵿl(ə)n(t)s/ | An emergency vehicle designed for transporting seriously ill or injured people to a hospital. |
| cord noun | /ˈkoɹd/ | A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fibre (a rope, for example). |
| referee noun | /ˌɹɛf.əˈɹi/ | An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game. |
| spinal adjective | /spaɪ.nəl/ | Of or relating to the spine. |
| teammate noun | /ˈtiːmˌmeɪt/ | One who is on the same team. |
| glove noun | /ɡlʌv/ | An item of clothing, covering all or part of the hand and fingers, but usually allowing independent movement of the fingers. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. | |
| warm up verb | /ˌwɔː(ɹ)m ˈʌp/ | To become warmer. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| cut through verb | To take a shortcut through. | |
| lead up to verb | To set in motion; to act as a causal or preparatory event or sequence of events. | |
| take off verb | To remove. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, can't, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, athlete /ˈæθ.liːt/, ninth /naɪnθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rush /ɹʌʃ/, shock /ʃɔk/, smash /smæʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/, ceremony /ˈsɛɹ.əˌmoʊ.ni/, ordinary /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/, accidentally /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/, practically /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.k(ə.)li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like vault, medal, dive.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.