Olympian Katie Archibald to miss Paris 2024 after freak garden accident
By Amy Woodyatt, CNN
(CNN) — British cyclist Katie Archibald will miss the Paris Olympics after breaking her leg in a freak accident.
The 30-year-old suffered a double leg break, dislocated her ankle and ripped her ligaments after tripping over a garden step, she wrote in a statement on Instagram on Thursday.
“I tripped over a step in the garden and managed to, somehow, dislocate my ankle; break my tibia and fibula; and rip two ligaments off the bone. What the heck,” two-time Olympian Archibald wrote alongside a picture of her in hospital, and of her injured leg.
Archibald won gold in the team pursuit at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She then took home gold in the madison and silver in the team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
The cyclist, from Scotland, confirmed she had had surgery on Wednesday “to pin the bones back together and reattach the ligaments.”
“A hundred apologies for what this means for the Olympic team, which I’ve been told won’t involve me,” she wrote.
“I’m still processing that bit of news, but thought I better confirm it publicly instead of leaving it to the grapevine (trip hazard and all that),” she added.
British Cycling confirmed that, following medical advice, Archibald would be unable to compete in next month’s Olympics.
“We share in Katie’s heartbreak over her injury, and the cruel manner in which she has been denied the chance to ride for the medals she so coveted in Paris,” British Cycling said in a statement.
“Our focus is now on providing Katie with the best possible support as she begins her recovery, and we know that the whole cycling community will be right behind her for every step,” the organization added.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
