The women’s short-track speed skating quarterfinals were briefly paused at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday after Kamila Sellier of Poland suffered a scary injury after an opponent’s blade sliced her face during a fall.
Sellier led the pack with nine laps to go in the sixth quarterfinal heat of the 1,500-meter race on Friday before she was passed by Italy’s Arianna Fontana. As racers jockeyed for positioning with six laps remaining, Sellier lost her footing on a turn and crashed. The blade of American Kristen Santos-Griswold sliced Sellier above her left eye during the crash. Fontana and Santos-Griswold also went down; the race was stopped due to injury.
Sellier, who is ranked No. 20 in the world, remained down on the ice for several minutes and officials brought out a white sheet to shield her as she was tended to. Sellier was eventually placed on a stretcher and wheeled out of Milano Skating Arena to an applause by the crowd and she was taken to a hospital for further medical attention.
Sellier received stitches above her eye in the arena, according to The Associated Press. USA TODAY Sports reached out to the Polish Olympic Committee for comment.
Racers typically wear helmets that don’t have a face shield, instead opting for protective eye wear. Sellier’s glasses, however, were knocked off by the impact of the collision with Santos-Griswold’s blade.
Santos-Griswold was penalized for an illegal lane pass that led to the incident and didn’t advance to the semifinals, effectively ending her Olympic campaign without a podium finish. She appeared to be confused when informed by a referee and fought back tears before putting on her blade guards and exiting the ice.
American Corinne Stoddard went on to win bronze in the 1,500-meter race on Friday. Korea’s Kim Gilli took gold, while Korea’s Choi Minjeong took silver.
At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Santos-Griswold was in medal contention in the 1,000-meter race when she was bumped by an opponent and fell. She finished just off the podium in fourth place and contemplated retirement. Santos-Griswold, 31, came back strong and won five medals at the 2024 World Championships, including a 1,000-meter gold, to become the first U.S. skater to win medals at three individual distances (500m, 1,000m, 1,500m) at one world competition. She won her first Crystal Globe for the 2024-25 season, which is awarded to the best overall skater.
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