Polish speed skater hospitalized after taking blade to face in terrifying Olympic moment
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Polish speed skater hospitalized after taking blade to face in terrifying Olympic moment originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Polish short-track speed skater Kamila Sellier’s Olympics came to a sudden end on Friday due to a serious injury.
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Sellier was cut in the face by an opponent’s skate during the women’s 1,500-meter short-track quarterfinals, forcing her to withdraw from the race. The USA’s Kristen Santos-Griswold, whose blade caused the injury, was penalized for an illegal lane change and did not advance.
Medical staff attended to Sellier immediately as the race was paused.
Here’s what you need to know about Sellier’s condition and the collision.
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Kamila Sellier injury updates
Sellier was immobilized on a stretcher after the injury on Friday. Officials blocked her from view of the crowd with a white sheet as medical staffers tended to her, but she was fortunately seen giving a thumbs up as she was taken off the ice.
The injury impacted the area near Sellier's left eye. Santos-Griswold's blade cut Sellier near the eye, and the Polish speed skater quickly started bleeding. Officials had to clear a trail of blood from the ice after the injury.
Fortunately, Sellier's eye appears to be unaffacted. CBC's Devin Heroux reported the 25-year-old avoided an injury to the eye, but he reported that Polish officials believe she might have suffered a facial fracture.
I just interviewed one of the member of the Polish coaching staff.
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) February 20, 2026
He tells me he believes Kamila Sellier suffered a facial fracture in the crash.
She’s being taken to hospital.
While an exact diagnosis is still unclear, Sellier's thumbs up indicated she was conscious and at least felt alright, given the circumstances.
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What happened to Kamila Sellier?
Sellier took a blade to the face when Santos-Griswold kicked up her leg during a quarterfinal race on Friday. Sellier was already falling to the ice as Santos-Griswold's leg went up, and she collided with Italy's Arianna Fontana after being struck by Santos-Griswold.
Santos-Griswold was penalized for an illegal lane pass, while Fontana was able to continue racing and finished second.
The injury marked an unfortunate end to Sellier's medal hopes, as she was unable to finish and would have been too injured to compete in the semifinals anyway, but she appears to have escaped without an injury to her left eye itself.