Connor Fields, the Olympic Champion had a serious bike accident at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He had to be rushed to the hospital immediately following the BMX crash.
The rider has already won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. His win at the previous edition of the event rendered him the top contender for gold at the Tokyo event as well, but fate had other plans for the racer.
Connor’s bike skidded, and he crashed headlong into the turn. Two riders behind him crashed as well. The horrific event unfolded on TV. Connor was in critical condition when he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Connor underwent several CT scans to determine any serious injuries or internal bleeding on his head, abdomen and spine. It was reported that the racer was conscious and answering questions but he was in a lot of pain.
While everyone was talking about how the event was so horrible, it was Connor’s father, Mike Fields, who was living his worst nightmare. Mike knew the risks that were involved in this sport. He was a racer and had taken part in the 1999 BMX race. He had introduced the sport to his son and had bought him his first bike.
Mike had tried to rationalize with himself that accidents like this were unavoidable in a game like this but being a father it was not that easy.
“Is one of the times when we just have to trust in the universes”, he said.
This isn’t the first time that the racer had an accident. He suffered a wrist injury before the Rio Olympics but he recovered just in time to participate in the event. In 2018, the racer had a head injury and suffered a seizure as a result of that.
Connor had gone through a depressive phase after losing the 2010 junior World championship. He had given up on becoming a racer and had wanted to become a physical therapist. Two years later he participated in the Olympics and secured seventh place at the megaevent.
