Winter Olympics 2026: Polish speedskater Kamila Sellier hospitalized after suffering blade cut to her face
MILAN – Polish skater Kamila Sellier suffered a serious injury in the sixth quarter-final of the 1500m short track speed skating on Friday night and was taken from the Assago Ice Skating Arena to a nearby hospital. Polish officials said he was in good spirits and even gave his thumbs up as he left the arena.
Late in the quarter-finals, Sellier lost her balance, slipped and collided with USA’s Kristen Santos-Griswold. In the ensuing crash, Santos-Griswold’s skate hit Sellier in the face. Sellier slid onto a protective retaining wall and medical crews lifted a sheet around him to shield the stage from spectators. He was stretched from the ice.
Konrad Niedźwiedzki, press attache of the Polish speed skating team and a 2014 Olympian, told reporters in the arena that Sellier had a cut on his cheek and eyelid that required stitches. Other reports He noted that Sellier’s cheekbone was potentially broken and he suffered severe swelling.
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“We are waiting to see what the hospital tests show,” Niedźwiedzki said via translation.
One of Sellier’s teammates, Natalia Maliszewska, looked visibly shaken as she spoke to reporters. “My thoughts are with him,” Maliszewska said in Polish. “I can’t think of anything else.”
Sellier’s teammate Gabriela Topolska said in Polish: “These are not ordinary accidents, but they happen.” “Kamila already has one of these on her face, from the skate on her face. Kamila has a stitched cut in her skin.”
Sellier won several European medals in speed skating; She most recently won a silver medal in the 2000 m mixed relay race at the European short track speed skating championships held in January.
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Santos-Griswold was disqualified from the race for the illegal overtake that likely led to the crash. He refused to speak to the media after the race, which continued after the injury break.
