- Olympic gold medalist Katy Marchant crashes into the barrier and into the crowd.
- The British and the German Alessa-Catriona Propster come together during the keirin series
- The race is suspended after the drivers and four fans were treated by doctors at the scene
Olympic gold medalist Katy Marchant was taken to hospital with a suspected broken arm after crashing into the barrier and into the crowd in a horrific collision at the London velodrome.
British cyclist and German Alessa-Catriona Propster came together at high speed during their keirin heat at Saturday night’s Track Champions League event at Lee Valley VeloPark.
The result was that the pair flew off the track along with their bikes and catapulted into a group of surprised spectators.
The two runners and the four fans were treated by doctors on site. Propster left the incident after 10 minutes, but Marchant remained on the ground for half an hour before she was carried out of the arena and taken to the hospital.
British Cycling said in a statement: “Following an accident in tonight’s women’s keirin semi-final, Katy Marchant has been treated by medical staff at the scene and will be taken to hospital for further assessment and any necessary treatment.”
Eurosport journalist Adam Blythe claimed Marchant had broken his forearm but fortunately avoided further serious injury. Following the incident, the rest of the night’s race was abandoned.
British Cycling added: ‘WBD Sports, British Cycling, Lee Valley VeloPark and Union Cycliste Internationale have unanimously decided to suspend all further racing in the evening and would like to extend their best wishes for a speedy recovery to both the riders and all affected spectators.
“We are working closely with all parties to review the incident before taking appropriate action.”
Katy Marchant was taken to hospital with a suspected broken arm after the terrifying accident.
Marchant won Sprint gold at the Paris Olympics with Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell (right)
Marchant and Alessa-Catriona Propster (top) crash into the barrier at the London Velodrome
Marchant, who has a two-year-old son, won gold for Team GB at Paris 2024 in the women’s team sprint, alongside Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell. The 31-year-old also took bronze in the individual sprint at Rio 2016.
His horror accident occurred at the same location and corner where fellow British Olympic champion Matt Walls catapulted over the barriers and into the crowd at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Walls, who was involved in a multi-runner collision at nearly 40 mph during a scratch race, avoided serious injury, but one fan was forced to undergo surgery for a serious “machete-like” arm injury.
The incident prompted calls from Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Laura Kenny to improve velodrome security.
Lee Valley VeloPark subsequently installed a 1.4 meter perspex barrier around the track, at a cost of £250,000, earlier this year.
Lee Valley said the barrier was “the first in the UK for an existing velodrome and is believed to be only the third of its kind in the world to be retrofitted”.
This weekend’s Champions Track League is only the second event at the venue since higher fences were installed.
This year, the London venue installed a 1.4 meter barrier, costing £250,000, around the track.
Marchant, 31, who won gold in the team sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was competing in the second women’s keirin heat.