Sarah Walker's Olympic campaign has been delivered another devastating setback after the 2012 silver medallist suffered double fracture of her arm after a fall during a training session in Cambridge today.
Today's accident adds to Walker's huge injury toll over the last fouryears, with the 27 year-old having now suffered 11 fractures to her arms in four separate incidents.
Cycling New Zealand high performance director Mark Elliott said they will await further medical advice before looking at her path to recovery and future steps towards Rio.
Walker, who won the Oceania title recently over world number four Caroline Buchanan, was preparing for the early season UCI Supercross World Cup competitions in Argentina next month and Manchester in May.
"It's a real blow for Sarah who has been in outstanding form in training. We will know more in the coming weeks and will continue working with Sarah on her plans going forward," said Elliott.
"It's likely that she will need to re-focus towards the world championships in May as her gateway to Rio."
She has received treatment at Waikato Hospital. Photo: Jason Dorday
Walker spent much of last year out of action recovering from a serious concussion as the result of a crash in California in late 2014, in which she also broke her arm in six places. In a recent interview with the Herald, Walker said the horror crash, which forced her off the bike for over six months, severely knocked her confidence. She admitted even training can shatter the nerves.
"Even today, for example, I almost had a crash and managed to stay on but it scared me a lot," Walker said after a training ride in Cambridge last month.
"If I was to look at BMX without my helmet and off my bike I'd see it like other people do...some of the jumps are humongous and even I would question how can I do this."
"But when I put my helmet on and ride towards it, it's a different perception and I know I can do it. We try really hard to make it look easy but there are definitely times when fear is through the roof."
