Crashes in track cycling are normal, but Aussie Matt Glaetzer was involved in a crash at Lee Valley VeloPark that left his hopes of continuing at this year’s Commonwealth Games hanging by a thread.
Glaetzer and England’s Joe Truman found themselves in the banked turn on the second lap of the keirin after the Aussie clipped the rear wheel of the rider in front of him.
The two runners hit the ground at more than 70 kilometers per hour, the Englishman losing consciousness on impact.
Glaetzer was able to get up and hobble, with his tattered thin racing suit.
Truman slid to a stop in the front and stood still for several eerie minutes amid an uneasy silence at the usually noisy velodrome.
Truman had to be given oxygen before being wheeled out of the arena.
It was later reported that he suffered a suspected broken collarbone, along with a concussion and multiple abrasions.
Glaetzer suffered multiple scrapes and burns to his right side in the accident.
Channel 7 reported that he also had to have a splinter cut in his elbow.
The 29-year-old, who has gone through many hardships in his career including battling thyroid cancer in 2019, still hopes to compete in Sunday’s sprint race.
The two-time defending Commonwealth Games champion in the Glasgow and Gold Coast keirin is aiming for a fifth career Commonwealth gold medal, having also won the Gold Coast 1km time trial there is four years old and part of the team that won the team sprint. gold medal for Australia on the first day in Birmingham.
In the keirin final, Australia’s Matt Richardson just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth.
Maeve Plouffe took silver in the 3,000m individual pursuit, finishing second behind New Zealand’s Bryony Botha, while her compatriot Sarah Roy was beaten for bronze by Scotland’s Neah Evans.
Conor Leahy was also in the medals for Australia, winning bronze in the 4,000m individual pursuit, behind New Zealand duo Aaron Gate and Tom Sexton.
