Great Britain’s Katy Marchant suffered a broken arm and the final round of the UCI Track Champions League was canceled after a nasty crash at Lee Valley VeloPark on Saturday night.
Marchant, who won team gold in the women’s sprint at the Paris Summer Olympics, was catapulted over the barrier and landed in the crowd after colliding with German rider Alessa-Catriona Propster.
The medical team treated Marchant for half an hour before she was taken to hospital. At the 2012 London venue in Stratford, four audience members were also reportedly injured, but no one needed to go to hospital.
Propster was on the inside of Marchant in the first lap of the women’s keirin when she moved high up the track and collided hard with the British rider, sending the pair over the barriers.
ですますですますですます UCI trackさんたごオンズリーキの女子ケイリMarchant🇬🇧がAlessa-Catriona Propster🇩🇪ととかままし観客席に突っこむ
ケイティが両腕を骨折したしますしますなりなりなんたんなんなんますます
This accident caused the next race to be canceled #teaching #jspocycle pic.twitter.com/3nmrTankYA— Den@香港垢 (@Den95504207) December 7, 2024
British Cycling confirmed Marchant’s broken arm on Sunday morning, saying in a statement: “Following immediate medical attention from the track medical team, Katy was accompanied by a British Cycling doctor to hospital where she underwent X-rays which confirmed a fractured radius and ulna in her right forearm as well as two dislocated fingers.
“Katy is in good spirits and her medical team is taking good care of her. We wish her a full and speedy recovery.”
The propster also sought medical attention, TV cameras broke away from the incident and the crowd fell silent before the race ended and fans were asked to leave.
Adam Blythe, a former British cyclist, told Eurosport after the crash: “I’ve got people there giving me feedback and I’ve also heard from a few of her team-mates that Katy Marchant is fine. .
“Just a broken forearm and it’s a bit of a shock. There were a few members of the crowd who were involved and they seem to be fine as well. They are all in good condition, although Katy broke her forearm.
“The race was canceled for the night because of the crash, so disappointing, but the good news and the main thing is that everyone is fine and in good shape.” Enough to get up and go home tonight.”
British Cycling said in a statement: “WBD Sports [the broadcaster]British Cycling, Lee Valley VeloPark and the Union Cycliste Internationale have unanimously decided to suspend all further racing for the evening and wish the riders and all spectators affected a speedy recovery.
“We would like to thank the medical staff for their quick response and constant support. We are working closely with all parties to review the incident before taking appropriate action. There will be no further comment at this time.”
The crash mirrored an incident at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when Olympic champion Matt Walls was one of three riders hospitalized after a horrific crash.
Walls, who won omnium gold at Tokyo 2021, was sent flying through the barriers and into the crowd at the London 2012 velodrome as he tried to take evasive action to avoid the pile-up in front of him.
Several spectators, including a little girl, were injured in the dramatic incident, leading Dame Laura Kenny, a five-time Olympic champion, to call for bigger barriers or screens to be fitted to velodromes.
“Maybe there should be screens because Matt shouldn’t be able to go over the top and into the crowd, that’s bloody dangerous,” Kenny said at the time. “This is the third time I’ve been to the velodrome and witnessed someone go over the top.
Earlier this year, VeloPark actually installed a 1.4m barrier at a cost of around £250,000, but it didn’t stop Marchant and Propster from landing in the crowd on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Katie Archibald, who missed the Olympics after a brutal accident, secured the Champions League women’s endurance title.
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