She was flat on the ice, bleeding, with medical staff scrambling around her — and somehow, Kamila Sellier still managed to remind the world what Olympic grit looks like.
The 25-year-old Polish short track speed skater was stretchered out of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics arena on Friday after suffering a deep cut to her face during the 1500-metre women’s quarterfinal — a wound delivered not by a fall, but by a competitor’s razor-sharp skate blade.
How It All Happened
The incident unfolded with terrifying speed, as most things in short track skating do. With multiple athletes pushing for position around the tight oval, Team USA’s Kristen Santos-Griswold executed an illegal pass that sent three skaters — Santos-Griswold, Italy’s legendary Arianna Fontana, and Sellier — crashing to the ice simultaneously.
In the chaos of the collision, Sellier’s protective eyewear flew from her face, leaving her exposed. A skate blade caught her just below the eye. Blood began spreading across the ice almost immediately.
Race officials stopped the event as arena medical staff rushed out onto the track. In a move designed to preserve some privacy amid the distressing scene, attendants held up a white barrier sheet around Sellier as they worked to stabilize her before loading her onto a stretcher.
Then came the moment that stopped the crowd’s collective breath — and then released it. As she was being carried from the ice, Kamila Sellier raised her thumb.
“Her Eye Is Fine”
Polish Olympic officials moved quickly to update a worried public. Konrad Niedźwiedzki, press attaché for the Polish speed skating delegation, confirmed to reporters that Sellier had sustained a laceration to her cheek and eyelid. She was treated with stitches at the venue before being transferred to a local hospital for additional evaluation and monitoring.
“We are waiting for what the hospital tests will show,” Niedźwiedzki told media. Crucially, officials confirmed her eye itself had not been damaged — news that brought enormous relief to her teammates, her country, and Olympic viewers around the world who had watched the incident live on broadcast television.
A Team United in Worry
Sellier’s Polish teammates made no secret of how shaken they were. Natalia Maliszewska, one of Poland’s top short track competitors, spoke openly about the emotional toll: “My thoughts are with her. I can’t think of anything else.”
Fellow skater Gabriela Topolska, who trains alongside Sellier, acknowledged the inherent danger of their sport while emphasizing that this type of injury is not routine. “These aren’t common accidents, but they do happen,” Topolska said. “Kamila has a cut in her skin, with stitches.”
Consequences for Santos-Griswold
For Team USA’s Kristen Santos-Griswold, the illegal pass that set the crash in motion came at the highest possible cost. She was disqualified from the remainder of the 2026 Winter Olympics, ending her medal hopes entirely.
Arianna Fontana, the Italian veteran who also went down in the collision, was found to have damage to her speed suit but was physically unharmed. After receiving attention from her physiotherapist, the resilient Fontana returned to competition and finished fifth in the final — a remarkable display of composure in the wake of such a dramatic incident.
The Irony That Stopped the Internet
In what would become painfully ironic timing, Sellier had posted a video to Instagram just one day before the accident, joking alongside teammate Topolska about the “very safe” nature of being a professional speed skater. The clip cut to footage of the pair being thrown against the barriers during a race — presented as a lighthearted gag.
The world was no longer laughing by Friday evening, though Sellier’s thumbs-up may have helped it breathe again.
Short track speed skating remains one of the most physically demanding and unpredictable events in Winter Olympic competition. Athletes reach speeds exceeding 50 km/h on a small oval course, with blades extending from boots sharp enough to cut through ice — and, as Friday’s events demonstrated, through far more.
Kamila Sellier came to Milan to race. She left on a stretcher. But she left with her head held high, her eye intact, and her spirit unbroken — and that, perhaps, is the most Olympic thing of all.