“Physical: 100” Contestants Expose The Dangerous Injuries They Sustained During Filming
Spoiler Alert
Netflix‘s fitness survival show Physical: 100 has gained a wide fanbase as viewers enjoy watching the shockingly brutal competitions and rooting for their favorite contestants.
Previously, contestants Shim Eu Ddeum, Cha Hyun Seung, and Ma Sun Ho opened up about one of the unexpected difficulties of the show: waiting. There was such a large amount of time between challenges that the contestants actually became “exhausted.”
Fortunately, the contestants seemed to pass the time well whether they attended Shim Eu Ddeum’s stretching class or held playful fitness competitions.
But now some contestants are exposing another, far more brutal, reality of the show: injuries.
As Physical: 100 focuses on brutal feats of strength, it’s not surprising that even though the contestants all have incredible skills, they risk injuring themselves.
On the show itself, two of the contestants mentioned injuries. Seong Chi Hyun was initially eliminated from the show but managed to rejoin the contestants by finishing in the top five of the revival challenge.
Still, because he had injured his knee in the earlier death match, the other contestants were hesitant to team up with him, which only made Chi Hyun more determined to prove himself, despite the risk of injuring himself further by moving a 1.5-ton boat.
Arena A had a hill-like terrain. I jumped from it and hurt my knee. I wanted to show the others that my leg is sturdy and I can do more. So I acted a bit tough.
— Seong Chi Hyun
In the most recent fourth challenge, which features ancient mythology-inspired feats of strength, popular contestant Cha Hyun Seung took part in a racing competition. For the match, Hyun Seung had to compete against three other contestants, who were all trying to tag the person in front of them until they were the last one standing. While the dancer might generally have done well at the challenge, he confessed that he had fractured his rib.
I fractured my rib. Even just walking fast or going down the stairs hurts a lot. I’m not at 100 percent, but I’ll give it my all.
— Cha Hyun Seung
Despite many contestants worrying about Hyun Seung competing in a running endurance challenge with his injury, he still tried the challenge before getting tagged and revealing just how much pain he was in.
Poor Cha Hyun-seung #Physical100 pic.twitter.com/DfSFmbGKa1
— ah noona? (@ahhhnoona) February 14, 2023
Popular contestant Kim Da Young also scared her fellow contestants when her foot got stuck under one of the logs during the boat challenge. Fortunately, her teammates could help rescue her quickly, and the stunt actor seemed okay after.
But other eliminated contestants are also sharing shocking stories of the injuries they received competing. Former UDT specialist and drill instructor Kim Kyeong Baek showed his immense strength by excelling at the hanging challenge, where contestants had to use their arms to hang from bars until they were the last remaining.
Kyeong Baek managed to hang on for over 13 minutes before he won his group.
But in an Instagram post, Kyeong Baek explained that while he didn’t expect to sustain a long-lasting injury from competing so intently, he ended up with his arms “paralyzed for two months.”
A memory from that day
I thought my arms would be okay after a day. I didn’t know that it would be paralyzed for 2 months.
I started walking without deciding who I wanted to choose!
Nippert! I chose him because he’s my friend of the same age.
I had no plans on losing.
But I lost.
I’m just a loser.
— Kim Kyeong Baek
Meanwhile, contestant Elaine Wong, who shocked her fellow contestants by appearing on the show since she was an actress, opened up about just how common injuries were in an interview with AsiaOne. The actress believed that the contestants were willing to push themselves to the limit because of all that was “on the line.”
I think everybody was crazy about the [prize money], and because their pride and their jobs are on the forefront and on the line.
It’s just like if you put me in acting competitions or certain variety show competitions – I would be very prideful as well, because it’s my job. I’m supposed to shine, you know?
So can you just imagine 99 of them – they were all crazy about it… Other than money, the most important thing is their pride. You can never lose that.
— Elaine Wong
Because of this heavy sense of pride that the contestants felt, many refused to stop competing even after being injured.
Even though they have broken ribs and torn ligaments, they just go ahead with it (the competition) – they act like it’s fine but they will be very much in pain after performing.
— Elaine Wong
Some of the injuries that contestants received were very severe.
One of [my friends sustained] a broken rib. Breaking a rib is actually very painful, even a fracture is already painful enough…
Another one, I think his knee fractured, or something was out of place. He couldn’t walk – it was horrible.
And there is this lady, she was wearing shorts… She was picked to play on the sand arena. She was fighting and her whole leg was all bloodied.
— Elaine Wong
Perhaps most alarmingly, Elaine Wong mentioned that there were frequently contestants sent off in ambulances, which Netflix didn’t include in the show.
Netflix didn’t show all this… But behind the scenes, there’s an ambulance every 20 to 30 minutes, picking up [contestants] and going off.
— Elaine Wong
There’s no denying that the Physical: 100 contestants put everything on the line for the competition.
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