Polish speed skater Kamila Sellier is in serious condition after suffering a major injury following a collision midway through the 1500m short track speed skating quarterfinals.
Sellier sustained severe injuries, including a facial fracture. and had to be admitted to the local hospital for further treatment. She was hit in the face by the blades of a fellow skater.
The Injury to Kamila Sellier Explained
Sellier was a part of the Polish trio that participated in the women’s 1000m and the women’s 1500m speed skating alongside Natalia Maliszewska and Gabriela Topolska. Sellier was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 1000m event and harbored hopes of changing her fortunes in the 1500m.
Initially, the 25-year-old was doing well, leading the race until there were six laps left. The Polish skater lost her footing midway and crashed down, at which point the blade of American skater Kristen Santos-Griswold sliced through the face of Sellier, just above the left eye.
While speed skaters don’t have a protective face shield, they wear protective eyewear. Unfortunately, the latter was smashed by the impact of the collision with Santos-Griswold.
READ MORE : What Is Lindsey Vonn’s Tibia Fracture? Inside the Injury That Ended Her Winter Olympics Comeback Run
The world’s No. 20-ranked skater remained on the ice for some time before she was attended to by the local medics. She was eventually placed on a stretcher and taken out of the Milano Skating Arena to a local hospital for further medical attention. As per some media reports, the Polish skater received multiple stitches.
Sellier has been consistent in podium finishes, both in Europe and worldwide. The 25-year-old first made a name for herself at the 2017 European Youth Olympics, where she won gold and silver. She also won four medals at the European Championships and two at the World Speed Skating Championships, including a silver medal she earned last year.
Sellier is not the only prominent athlete who has crashed out of a crucial event at the Winter Olympics this year. Prominent alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, who was participating in her fifth Winter Olympics, was knocked out of the race only 13 seconds into a women’s downhill event.
The 41-year-old former champion suffered a serious tibia fracture in her already injured left leg and had to be airlifted to a local hospital in Treviso, Italy, where she received multiple surgeries to her left knee. The veteran skier was then airlifted back to the United States, where she will be undergoing post-surgery recovery.
