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Track cycling stars rally round Kristina Vogel after she suffers severe spinal injuries in crashKristina Vogel (licvensed CC BY 2.0 on Flickr by Flowizm, iimage cropped).JPG

Track cycling stars rally round Kristina Vogel after she suffers severe spinal injuries in crash

Becky James, Sir Chris Hoy and Anna Meares among those sending messages of support to Olympic champion
by Simon_MacMichael
Wed, Jun 27, 2018 14:23
3

Stars of the track cycling world have sent messages of support to German sprinter Kristina Vogel after the two-time Olympic champion sustained serious spinal injuries in a crash during training yesterday.

Vogel had been training at the velodrome in Cottbus for the 28th edition of the German Sprint Grand Prix when the crash happened.

Germany’s national cycling federation, the BDR, said that the 27-year-old had been in a collision at high speed with another cyclist who was on the track at the same time.

The double Olympic and 11-time world champion was airlifted to hospital in Berlin and underwent several hours of surgery last night.

BDR sports director Patrick Moster, quoted on Rad-Sport.de earlier today, said that the organisation had not received any further update on Vogel’s condition, but added that it remained in contact with her family.

Miriam Welte, who partnered Vogel as Germany won team sprint gold at the London 2012 Olympics – the pair have also won the world championship in the event on four occasions – said she was left “shocked and stunned” when she heard about the crash.

“She’s in my thoughts and I hope everything goes well,” the 31-year-old said. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

"I contacted her partner Michael Seidenbecher and wrote that I am thinking about her.

"Kristina is an absolute fighter and a positive person, she has already come back after a serious accident,” added Welte, referring to an incident when Vogel was seriously injured when she was knocked off her bike by a police minibus in 2009 and spent two days in an induced coma.

Among those sending messages of support to Vogel on Twitter was the retired British track sprinter Becky James, who took the silver medal behind her in the sprint at the Rio Olympics in 2016, as well as Australian track legend Anna Meares and six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy.

 

Kristina Vogel
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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3 comments

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Christopher TR1 | 5 years ago
1 like

Terrible. Let's hope she's back on the track asap.

When she was guest at a local amateur event she was very friendly and pleasant. And of course she impressed with her speed and power on the bike!

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pedalpowerDC | 5 years ago
4 likes

She's such a pleasure to watch on the track and an amazing personality. Gave me a smile and wave once from the boards; I'm still smitten. Here's to a full recovery.

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CygnusX1 | 5 years ago
6 likes

Here's wishing a full and speedy recovery

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