Polish speed-skater Kamila Sellier had to be stretchered off the ice on Friday after a competitor’s blade sliced her above her left eye in a gory accident during the women’s 1,500m at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Sellier went down along with 15-time Olympic medalist Ariana Fontana of Italy and American skater Kristen Santos-Griswold, who was penalised for an illegal lane pass that contributed to the accident and therefore denied a place in the quarter-final.
The race was paused while Sellier received attention, with a large white sheet raised to block the view of the packed crowd inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena, there to see the final night of short-track speed skating.
She eventually gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as she was taken away, leaving a trail of blood in the final corner of the track that workers had to clean up during the break.
Sellier’s teammate, Natalia Maliszewska, appeared shaken up as she told reporters: “My thoughts are with her. I can’t think of anything else.”
“These aren’t common accidents, but they do happen,” Gabriela Topolska, another of Sellier’s teammates, said. “Kamila already has one of them, from a skate on her face. Kamila has a cut in her skin, with stitches.”
Polish officials said Sellier’s eye was OK. She received stitches at the arena before being taken to the hospital for more tests.
Fontana’s skinsuit was nicked up and she received some help from her physiotherapist on her left hip during the pause. She wound up finishing second to Hanne Desmet of Belgium, sending her through to the semi-finals.
She later advanced into the finals, narrowly edging Zhang Chutong at the finishing line.
Fontana, the reigning Olympic silver medalist in the 1,500m, was trying to move level with Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen as the most decorated Winter Olympian.
The home favourite had won gold in the 2,000m mixed relay and silver in the 500m and 3,000m relay earlier in these Games but could only finish fifth, missing out on a medal.
Additional reporting from AP
