Olympic champion track sprinter Kristina Vogel has revealed she will never walk again as a result of the spinal injury she sustained during a training crash in June.
The 27-year-old, who won team sprint gold at the London 2012 Olympics and the individual sprint title in Rio two years ago, was training for the German Sprint Grand Prix at the velodrome in Cottbus when she was involved in a collision with another rider.
> Track cycling stars rally round Kristina Vogel after she suffers severe spinal injuries in crash
Following the crash, Vogel was airlifted to hospital in Berlin where she was placed in an induced coma and underwent spinal surgery.
Since then, there has been no update to her condition until an interview published today by Der Spiege, reports dw.com.
"It is shit, there's no other way to put it,” she told the magazine. “No matter how you look at it, I can't walk anymore.
"But I believe that the sooner you accept a new situation, the sooner you learn to deal with it."
Speaking of the crash, she said: "I saw someone walk away with my shoes. But I didn't feel it when they were taken off.
“I realised immediately now I am paraplegic, there will be no more walking.”
Vogel, who besides her two Olympic gold medals has also won 11 world titles, continued: "I didn't want people to see me that injured.
"Now I can say I have reached a point where I can say: here I am and I am fine.
“I am still the same crazy person. I want to be a source of motivation for others," she added.
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Original DW article here: https://www.dw.com/en/olympic-champion-kristina-vogel-paralyzed-after-crash/a-45399677
Paywalled (and in German) Der Spiegel article: http://www.spiegel.de/plus/kristina-vogel-mein-leben-im-rollstuhl-a-00000000-0002-0001-0000-000159308863
Well, that fucking sucks.
Having said that - there's no reason she can't continue to cycle and compete; get this woman a handcycle, naaaaaaow.
What a terrible outcome. Here's hoping the science in this area makes a breakthrough one day and this sort of thing becomes a thing of the past or at least something more treatable.
Awful. Everything BTBS said.
Shit
Devastating for her and family/friends, let's hope she manages the mental recovery and so far on the face of her words she's doing ok. it's so difficult to explain how it is when you have everything you've known, something you were so passionate about that you lived and breathed, snatched away.
Best wishes for the future.
damn, damn, damn...
One article said she was going 38mph when the crash happened. I have a hard time hitting that on a road bike on a downhill. She was such a strong rider.
Indomitable spirit. Paralympic double? Invite onto The Last Leg at least.