Britain’s Katy Marchant suffered a broken arm and the UCI Track Champions League’s final round was cancelled following a nasty crash at the Lee Valley VeloPark on Saturday night.
Marchant, who won team gold in the women’s sprint at the summer Olympics in Paris, was catapulted over a barrier and landed in the crowd after a collision with German rider Alessa-Catriona Propster.
A medical team treated Marchant for half an hour before she was taken to hospital. Four spectators were also reported to have been injured at the London 2012 venue in Stratford but none needed to go to hospital.
Propster was on the inside of Marchant in the first round of the women’s keirin when she moved high up the track and collided with the British rider at force, propelling the pair over the barriers.
ロンドンで行われていたUCIトラックチャンピオンズリーグの女子ケイリンでKaty Marchant🇬🇧がAlessa-Catriona Propster🇩🇪とクラッシュし観客席に突っこむ
ケイティが両腕を骨折した以外は深刻なケガ人は出ていない模様
この事故により以降のレースが中止になった #ucitcl #jspocycle pic.twitter.com/3nmrTankYA— Den@趣味垢 (@Den95504207) December 7, 2024
British Cycling confirmed on Sunday morning that Marchant had broken her arm, saying in a statement: “After receiving immediate medical care from the medical team at the track, Katy was accompanied by the British Cycling doctor to hospital where she underwent X-rays that confirmed a fractured radius and ulna in her right forearm, as well as two dislocated fingers.
“Katy is in good spirits and is being well cared for by her medical team. We wish her a full and speedy recovery.”
Propster also required medical attention, with television cameras breaking away from the incident and the crowd falling silent before racing was abandoned and fans were asked to leave.
Adam Blythe, the former British cyclist, said on Eurosport after the crash: “I’ve got people up there that have given me the feedback and I’ve heard from a couple of her team-mates as well that Katy Marchant is all OK.
“Just a broken forearm and it’s a little bit of a shock. There were a couple of members from the crowd that were involved and they seem to be OK as well. Everyone’s in a good condition, although Katy has broken her forearm.
“The racing has been cancelled for the night due to that crash, so a disappointment, but the good news and the main thing is that everyone is OK and in a good condition. Enough to get up and walk home tonight.”
British Cycling said in a statement: “WBD Sports [the broadcaster], British Cycling, Lee Valley VeloPark and the Union Cycliste Internationale unanimously decided to suspend all further racing for the evening and want to extend their best wishes for a speedy recovery to both riders and all affected spectators.
“We wish to thank the medical staff for their prompt response and ongoing support. We are working closely with all parties to review the incident before taking appropriate action. No further comments will be made at this time.”
The crash echoed the incident at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 when Olympic champion Matt Walls was one of three riders hospitalised following a horrific crash.
Walls, who won omnium gold at Tokyo 2021, was sent flying over the barriers and into the crowd at the London 2012 velodrome as he tried to take evasive action to avoid a pile-up ahead of him.
A number of spectators including a small girl were hurt in the dramatic incident, leading Dame Laura Kenny, the five-time Olympic champion, to call for bigger barriers or screens to be fitted in velodromes.
“Maybe there should be screens because Matt should not have been able to go over the top and into the crowd, that’s pretty damn dangerous,” Kenny said at the time. “It’s the third time now I’ve been in a velodrome and witnessed someone go over the top.”
Earlier this year, the VeloPark did install a 1.4-metre barrier, at a cost of around £250,000, but it did not prevent Marchant and Propster from landing among spectators on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Katie Archibald, who missed the Olympics after a freak accident, secured the Champions League women’s endurance title.
