Olympic Champion Track Cyclist Katie Archibald to Miss Paris Games after Freak Accident

 Katie Archibald of Great Britain reacts after winning the women’s omnium points race at the UEC track cycling elite European championships, at the Velodrome Suisse, in Grenchen, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
Katie Archibald of Great Britain reacts after winning the women’s omnium points race at the UEC track cycling elite European championships, at the Velodrome Suisse, in Grenchen, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
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Olympic Champion Track Cyclist Katie Archibald to Miss Paris Games after Freak Accident

 Katie Archibald of Great Britain reacts after winning the women’s omnium points race at the UEC track cycling elite European championships, at the Velodrome Suisse, in Grenchen, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
Katie Archibald of Great Britain reacts after winning the women’s omnium points race at the UEC track cycling elite European championships, at the Velodrome Suisse, in Grenchen, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

British two-time Olympic champion track cyclist Katie Archibald will miss the Paris Games after breaking two leg bones in a freak accident.

The 30-year-old Archibald fractured her tibia and fibula and dislocated an ankle when she tripped over a garden step.

She also sustained substantial ligament damage during the incident on Tuesday and has since undergone surgery.

“I tripped over a step in the garden and managed to, somehow, dislocate my ankle; break my tibia and fibula; and rip two ligaments off the bone,” Archibald posted on Instagram on Thursday alongside a photo of her in a hospital bed, The Associated Press reported.

“Had surgery yesterday to pin the bones back together and reattach the ligaments. Then hopefully this afternoon I’ll be going home.”

Archibald won gold with Britain in team pursuit in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and won another gold five years later in the Olympic debut of the women's Madison alongside Laura Kenny in Tokyo.

This is the latest setback for her over the past two years.

She missed the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after colliding with a vehicle. Her partner, mountain biker Rab Wardell, died suddenly the same year at 37.

Archibald has also won five golds at world championships and 20 at European championships.



FIFA Suspends Argentina Goalkeeper for 2 Matches in World Cup Qualifying

Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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FIFA Suspends Argentina Goalkeeper for 2 Matches in World Cup Qualifying

Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Argentina's soccer association (AFA) said on Friday that FIFA suspended goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez for two matches of South American World Cup qualifying in October.
The decision rules out the 32-year-old from official games in the round-robin competition against Venezuela and Bolivia on Oct. 10 and 15.
AFA said in a statement that FIFA's disciplinary commission sanctioned Martínez due to incidents in two World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Colombia earlier this month. The soccer body did not describe which incidents led to the punishment, The Associated Press reported.
Martínez made an obscene gesture after his team's 3-0 win against Chile by holding the Copa America trophy close to his genitals, as he did after the South American team lifted the World Cup title in Qatar in the end of 2022.
Later, he slapped a local cameraman after Argentina's 2-1 defeat against Colombia in Barranquilla.
Argentina's soccer body said it “absolutely disagrees” with FIFA's decision.
Argentina leads South American World Cup qualifying with 18 points after eight games, followed by Colombia (16) and Uruguay (15).