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VIDEO: Olympic BMX Cyclist Fractures Knee In Crash, Goes On To Win Gold

Niek Kimmann

Niek Kimmann, a BMX cyclist for the Netherlands, was part of a brutal crash with a race official earlier this week during a training ride.

Kimmann shared video of the crash to Twitter along with the caption, "So this is what happened today. Hit an official that wanted to cross the 2nd straight. Hope the official is O.K. My knee is sore, but will do my best to be ready for Thursday! Thanks everyone for the messages, appreciate it!"

There hasn't been any report on how that race official is doing, but Kimmann sustained a fractured kneecap in the crash according to CyclingTips.com. Amazingly, Kimmann powered through the likely painful injury and won gold in the Men's BMX final race today (July 30.)

Kimmann told NOS TV (as reported by CyclingTips.com), "I can hardly believe it. I hit the official on Monday and thought the dream is over. I knew I am young and the track suits me. If I ever become Olympic champ it’s now. After the training I took painkillers but then my stomach hurt. The delay helped me. I had to black out all the fuzz around me. I was so tired after the past days that I thought someone would pass me every time. I don’t believe it yet. I fought and it’s gold. Now I am going to phone my parents."

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Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights