Olympic champion misses Games in Paris after bizarre accident

LONDON – British track cyclist Katie Archibald will not compete in the Paris Olympics this summer after breaking two leg bones in a bizarre accident.

Archibald, who won gold medals at the last two Summer Olympics, suffered a broken tibia and fibula and a dislocated ankle on Tuesday when she tripped on a garden step, she said in an Instagram post.

“I tripped over a step in the garden and somehow dislocated my ankle, broke my tibia and fibula and tore two ligaments from my bone. What the heck,” she said on Instagram. The 30-year-old had to undergo surgery to repair a ligament injury and have her bones put back together.

“A hundred apologies for the impact this has on the Olympic team, which I’ve been told I won’t be a part of,” she said. “I’m still processing this news, but I thought it would be better to confirm it publicly rather than leave it to the rumor mill (risk of tripping and all).”

The Summer Olympics will take place on the Seine in Paris from July 26th.