The Olympics are celebrated as a joyous occasion for athletic achievement, but they can also be incredibly dangerous. And we’re not just talking about the crime in Rio.
Here’s somewhat disturbing video of a crash from women’s cycling yesterday, featuring the race leader, Annemiek van Vleuten:
van Vleuten was taken to the hospital with various injuries, but apparently none that are life-threatening, despite the severe nature of the accident. She actually managed to tweet Sunday evening:
I am now in the hospital with some injuries and fractures, but will be fine. Most of all super disappointed after best race of my career.
— Annemiek van Vleuten (@AvVleuten) August 8, 2016
As to the finish of that race, from Yahoo:
Other cyclists saw her down as they raced to the finish line, including teammate Anna van der Breggen, who won the race in 3:51.27.
“I was really shocked when I saw the crash and it didn’t look good but I had to focus and keep on with the race,” she said.
Van Vleuten was the third cyclist to crash on the Vista Chinesa, a steeply declining mountain road, in the Rio Olympics, following wipeouts from Italian and Colombian racers in the men’s road cycling event.
When there are multiple crashes featuring the best cyclists in the world, it’s perhaps time to consider whether this course was too dangerous to begin with. Thankfully it looks like van Vleuten will be making a full recovery, because this could have been much, much worse.
[Yahoo]
