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3 min readUpdated: Feb 21, 2026 11:32 AM IST
Kamila Sellier is injured after crashing and being struck in the face with a skate blade while competing during a short track speed skating women's 1,500 meters quarterfinal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
In another terrible incident on the track during the Winter Olympics 2026, Polish speekskater Kamila Sellier was immobilized on a stretcher and wheeled out Milano Ice Skating Arena after one of her competitor’s blade sliced her above the left eye.
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The incident happened during the women’s 1,500m short track speedskating event. The incident was triggered by an illegal lane pass attempted by American skater Kristen Santos-Griswold.
During her illegal lane pass, Kristen’s left leg swung in air with her blade slicing Sellier above the left eye and the Polish skater crashed into 15-time Olympic medalist Ariana Fontana of Italy.
Later, Kristen was barred from advancing through the quarter-final round.
The race was paused as Sellier received attention with a large white sheet blocking her from the broadcast and a large crowd that was present to witness the final night of short track speedskating.
Kamila Sellier (in white jersey) is stretched off the ice after getting injured in a crash and being struck in the face with a skate blade while competing during a short track speed skating women’s 1,500 meters at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
She eventually gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as she was taken away, leaving a trail of blood in the final corner of the track that workers had to clean up during the break.
Later, the Polish officials confirmed that Sellier’s eye was OK and she received stitches at the arena before going to the hospital for more tests.
Another look at the horrible Kamila Sellier speed skating accident. When it is slowed down like this you can see how close it was to leaving her partially blinded. pic.twitter.com/cefobBcW7V
— USA NEWS 🇺🇸 (@usanewshq) February 20, 2026
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Apart from Sellier, Fontana also suffered minor inconvenience as her skinsuit was kicked up and she also needed some help from her physiotherapist on the left hip during the pause.
Fontana finished second to Hanne Desmet of Belgium, sending her through to the semifinal round. She later advanced into the finals, narrowly edging Zhang Chutong at the finish line.
Fontana, the reigning Olympic silver medalist in the 1,500, was trying to move into a tie with Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen as the most decorated Winter Olympian. Fontana won gold in the 2,000-meter mixed relay and silver in the 500 meters and 3,000-meter relay earlier in the Milan Cortina Games.
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