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2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

CYCLING

Brokeback cyclist takes Olympic gold

German cyclist Kristina Vogel won Olympic gold on Friday three years after surviving a horrific crash which broke her back.

Published: 3 August 2012 16:21 CEST
Brokeback cyclist takes Olympic gold
Photo: DPA

The grins on Vogel’s and teammate Miriam Welte’s faces were no less broad for the fact that they only reached the final thanks to the disqualification of the British team – and then saw their silver turn to gold after their Chinese opponents were also penalised.

“We would have liked to have won differently,” admitted Welte, Die Welt reported on Friday. Vogel has spent years recovering from a horrific collision with a minivan in 2009 which left her with a broken vertebra.

Their gold was added to by the men’s quadruple sculls team after Karl Schulze, Tim Grohmann, Philipp Wende and Lauritz Schoof led from the start, crossing the line ahead of Croatia and Australia.

“That was very impressive. I had not reckoned on such a lead. The Croats never had the feeling they could overtake,” said German trainer Hartmut Buschbacher. “We knew that today was going to be our day.”

It was the third rowing medal for Germany, following the gold for the eight-man team and the silver won by the women’s four team.

The Local/hc

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CYCLING

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.

Published: 16 June 2023 12:54 CEST
Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.

He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.

But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.

“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.

Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.

American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.

On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.

“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.

“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”

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