Annemiek van Vleuten's mom thought her daughter died in shocking crash
Millions of Olympic viewers around the world held their breath waiting for an injury update after Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten went down in a horrifying accident while leading the women's road race with just 11 kilometers remaining. Racing down the technical Vista Chinesa descent, van Vleuten flipped forward and landed at a very high speed, coming to rest against a curb. Seconds later when the next few cyclists passed, van Vleuten hadn't moved. It took nearly an hour to learn that van Vleuten was conscious as she was being transported to a local hospital.
Annemiek van Vleuten's mother, Ria, was celebrating her birthday on the day of the race. Instead of a perfect present - seeing her daughter win an Olympic medal - van Vleuten feared that the crash might have taken Annemiek's life.
Via Telegraaf.nl:
Fortunately, despite spinal fractures, van Vleuten tweeted from the hospital to tell fans that she'll "be fine."
NBC Sports notes that a year ago on August 7th, 2015, van Vleuten was hit by a car while out on a ride, suffering three broken ribs and a broken collarbone. Perhaps she should stay inside on August 7th, 2017.
Thanks for all the messages! Congrats to @AnnavdBreggen! We were a super strong team today with @ellenvdijk and @marianne_vos.
— Annemiek van Vleuten (@AvVleuten) August 8, 2016
(Thanks to FTW for sharing this story.)
