For a few terrifying minutes inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the pursuit of Olympic glory was replaced by silence, shock and a trail of blood across the ice.
WARNING: This article contains descriptions and content of an injury that some people may find upsetting.
Polish short-track speed skater Kamila Sellier was carried off on a stretcher after being slashed in the face by a competitor’s blade during the women’s 1500m quarter-final on Friday (20 February).
The 25-year-old was competing for a place in the next round when chaos erupted in the final corner.
Team USA’s Kristen Santos-Griswold attempted an illegal lane pass, triggering a three-skater collision that brought down Italy’s Arianna Fontana, Sellier and Santos-Griswold herself, The Guardian reports.
As the trio tumbled at high speed, Santos-Griswold’s skate blade struck Sellier above her left eye. Her protective glasses flew off as she slid across the ice and crashed into the rink wall.
What followed was immediate concern.
Medical staff rushed onto the track as Sellier began bleeding heavily from her face. A large white sheet was quickly raised to shield her from the packed arena crowd while she received treatment, per The Mirror.
The race was halted as medics worked around her, and workers later had to clear blood from the final corner before competition could resume.
Despite the severity of the incident, Sellier managed to reassure those watching.
Before she was wheeled away, she gave the crowd a thumbs up.
Polish officials later confirmed that her eye was okay. She received stitches at the arena before being transported to a nearby hospital for further tests.
Konrad Niedźwiedzki, press attaché for the Polish speed skating team and a former Olympian, told reporters that Sellier had suffered a cut on her cheek and eyelid that required stitches.
“We are waiting for what the hospital tests will show,” Niedźwiedzki said.
However, the crash had immediate consequences on the results sheet.
Santos-Griswold was penalised for the illegal lane pass that contributed to the collision and was disqualified from the race, preventing her from advancing through the quarter-final round.
Fontana, meanwhile, escaped more serious injury.
The 14-time Olympic medallist had nicks in her skinsuit and required treatment from her physiotherapist on her left hip during the pause. But the Italian star was able to continue.
She finished second to Hanne Desmet of Belgium in the quarter-final to progress to the semi-finals, and later advanced into the final, narrowly edging Zhang Chutong at the finishing line.
Fontana, the reigning Olympic silver medallist in the 1500m, was bidding to move into a tie with Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen as the most decorated Winter Olympian. She had already claimed gold in the 2000m mixed relay and silver in the 500m and 3000m relay earlier in the Milano Cortina Games.
Back in the Polish camp, the focus remained entirely on Sellier.
Teammate Natalia Maliszewska appeared visibly shaken when speaking to reporters. “My thoughts are with her,” Maliszewska said. “I can’t think of anything else.”
Gabriela Topolska echoed the concern while acknowledging the brutal realities of the sport.
“These aren’t common accidents, but they do happen,” Topolska said. “Kamila already has one of them, from a skate on her face. Kamila has a cut in her skin, with stitches.”
Short track speed skating is renowned for its intensity — tight corners, high speeds and razor-sharp blades inches from exposed skin. Crashes are not unusual. Facial lacerations of this nature are far rarer.
Just a day earlier, Sellier had appeared in an Instagram video alongside Topolska, joking about how “very safe” the sport is, before cutting to footage of one of them being slammed into the barrier during a race.
On Friday night, that irony felt painfully real.
What should have been a straightforward quarter-final became one of the most distressing moments of the Winter Olympics so far.
An illegal move. A split-second collision. A blade where it should never have been – and a reminder of why protection and safety apparatus can be vital during such high-stakes and high-risk events.
We wish Sellier the very best with her ongoing recovery.
Featured image credit: Instagram/kamila_sellier/X (screenshot)
