That's Bode Miller last week in Beaver Creek, CO, not me. Looks like he could use an airbag. The thing is, skiing airbags exist, but no one will wear one.
In
this New York Times story, Marco Sullivan, U.S. Olympic skier notes "If you're the only guy wearing it, it's probably a disadvantage as far as speed goes." In fact, the author notes less than a second separated gold from 12th place.
Six one-hundredths of a second separated gold from silver.
Sam Peltzman earned his fame demonstrating that seat belts made drivers faster and more reckless. They compensate for their increased safety.
I am far from a skiing expert, but I have to imagine that the marginally faster/more reckless skiing due to wearing the airbag more than makes up for the weight differential, and just might make up for that 0.06 seconds for second place.
