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Polish speedskater’s face slashed by opponent’s blade in horrific accident

February 21, 2026 | | Print Article

The danger of the winter Olympics proved clear and present once more as a speedskating collision resulted in a racer being carried off the ice after a fellow skater’s blade made contact with her face.

Roughly two days before the closing ceremony would mark the end of the XXV Winter Olympic Games held in Milano and Cortina, Italy, another accident occurred, leaving an Olympian hospitalized. This time, Poland’s short-track speedskater Kamila Sellier was seen wiping out in a turn only to get struck near the eye by another racer’s skate.

During Friday night’s 1500-meter competition, an illegal lane pass wound up bringing a quarterfinal race to an abrupt halt when Sellier was sandwiched between Ariana Fontana of Italy and the penalized Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States. While the Italian, a medalist at each Olympic competition dating back to 2006, was seen falling nearly on top of Sellier, the skate of Santos-Griswold could be seen kicking up off the ice directly into Sellier’s face.

Polish team official Konrad Niedzwiedzki detailed, “Kamila was conscious. She gave a thumbs up as she left the ice rink, so she’s conscious. She has a cut on her cheek, which was stitched up immediately. From what I saw, most likely her eyelid is also cut, half of it.”

“I hope these are only superficial wounds, but we have to wait for the test results from the hospital where she has now been taken by the head of the medical mission …” he said without ruling out the possibility that Sellier’s cheekbone may have been broken as well.

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As she was attended to, a sheet was held up to provide privacy from the crowd before she was loaded on a stretcher and carried away, the Associated Press detailed.

While keeping the extent of the injury private for the time being, Sellier took to social media to provide an update from the hospital and express her gratitude to all those thinking of her, “i know that one day i’ll look at this picture and remember that i’m stronger than i ever believed. thank you for all your words of support, just wanted to let you know that i’m doing quite okay.”

 

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Santos-Griswold was ultimately disqualified, whereas Fontana finished fifth overall.

Similar to Sellier, skier Lindsey Vonn had suffered an injury during a downhill when she’d clipped a gate, causing her to crash and break her leg. Following multiple surgeries, including the latest that took over six hours, she shared an X-ray image of her leg that now had plates and numerous screws holding it together.

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“With the extent of the trauma, I’ve been struggling a bit post op and have not yet been able to be discharged from the hospital just yet… almost there. Baby steps,” Vonn said on Instagram while writing on X, “I’m bionic for real now.”

Kevin Haggerty
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