After stumbling over a garden step, 30-year-old twice Olympic champion Katie Archibald broke both legs, dislocated her ankle and tore her ligaments. As a result, she will not be competing in the Games in Paris.
Archibald has emerged as a leader and inspiration for the Great Britain track squad after winning gold medals at the Olympics in 2016 and 2020. She underwent surgery on Wednesday to fix the fractures and ligament damage. She updated concerned fans in an Instagram post, but she also stated that she ‘won’t involve herself’ in the Olympics.
The British cyclist planned to participate in the Olympic team pursuit, Madison, and Omnium events next month. But after her bizarre freak accident, Team GB will now be without their top female endurance rider, which is a severe setback to their medal aspirations in Paris.
Archibald won gold in Rio 2016. In Tokyo 2020, he shared the gold medal with Laura Kenny, who recently declared her retirement.
The Scottish rider who underwent surgery on Wednesday said she would like to think of the Manchester Royal Infirmary’s amazing physicians, nurses, radiographers, porters, physiotherapists, surgeons, and more. She said they deserve a hundred thank yous.
On July 4, Great Britain is anticipated to reveal their women’s endurance team for Paris.
British Cycling said they share in Katie’s sadness over her accident and the terrible way in which she has been denied the chance to race for the medals she so craved in Paris. Now, they said, their priority is to provide Katie with the finest care possible as she starts her recovery, and they are confident that the cycling community will support her at every turn.
In addition to her two gold medals from the Olympics, Archibald won a silver three years ago in the Tokyo team pursuit.
In addition, she has five global titles, one of which came from an emotional win in Glasgow in August in the team pursuit. The subsequent victory occurred only a year following the passing of her partner and fellow cyclist, Rob Wardell, who went into cardiac arrest in his sleep.
