Polish speed skater Kamila Sellier suffered a dramatic injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics when she was slashed by a skate near her eye.
The incident happened during the women’s 1500m event on Friday, February 20, when Sellier, 25, was cut by Team USA’s Kristen Santos-Griswold’s skate blade while crashing onto the ice.
Santos-Griswold, 31, was penalized for an illegal lane pass that contributed to the accident, eliminating her from the competition.
Sellier was immediately attended to by the medical staff, who held up a giant white sheet for privacy. The Olympian was taken off the ice on a stretcher and eventually gave a thumbs-up to the stunned crowd.
A trail of blood was left on the ice, which members of the arena crew had to clean up before the event could resume.
According to Polish journalist Mateusz Ligęza, Sellier was conscious after leaving the ice.
Ligęza reported that Sellier damaged her zygomatic bone and was being taken to the hospital for X-rays. For the moment, Sellier appears to have avoided any serious eye damage.
The zygomatic bone defines the anterior and lateral portions of the face, also referred to as the cheekbone.
“She was conscious the whole time after that disastrous contact with the skate,” Ligęza shared via X.
Sellier received stitches at the arena before being taken to the hospital, according to the Associated Press.
CBC reporter Devin Heroux suggested that poor ice conditions inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena, which also hosted the figure skating competitions, might have been a contributing factor.
“Ice conditions have been a topic of conversation throughout the Olympics here,” Heroux posted via X. “It’s the same venue for short track and figure skating. And after two weeks of blades tearing up the ice, it appears it’s just not holding up on the final evening of competition.”
He added, “More context. It was the hottest day yet of the Olympics in Milano today. The temperature soared to 18 C And it appears the ice is deteriorating. Horrible for the athletes.”
Sellier has been documenting her time at the 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina on social media.
In a video posted via Instagram on Thursday, February 19, the day before the crash, she made a playful joke about the safety of speed skating.
“Very safe,” she captioned the clip.
Kamila got married to her husband, Diane Sellier, in May 2025. Diane is also a decorated Polish speed skater, though he did not compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“From now on call me SELLIER 🫶,” she shared via Instagram alongside a carousel of photos from the big day.
Kamila has helped guide a breakthrough era of Polish speed skating, which was evidenced by Poland winning a silver medal at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in China in March 2025.
“It’s a historical day for our team,” Kamila told reporters after the event. “It’s our first medal in the World Championships. I’m really happy. I’m really proud of our team. We delivered at the most important competition of the year.”
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