Dani King: I thought I would never ride again
Last Updated: 23/11/14 3:40pm
Olympic champion Dani King admits she feared her cycling career was over after a horrific training crash earlier this month.
King, who won gold for Britain in the team pursuit at London 2012, was left with broken ribs and a collapsed lung after coming off her bike in South Wales.
She spent two days in intensive care, and 10 in hospital, but is making a quick recovery from her injuries and is already back in training - albeit not yet on a bike.
"There were loads of things running through my mind, like I would never ride again," King told the BBC.
"When I hit the floor I was fine. I thought I'd got off lightly. Then I felt excruciating pain as someone rode straight into my back and that's when all the damage was done.
"I could feel my ribs moving and was scared. I was in the road for an hour, it was raining. I lost feeling in my feet, which worried me.
"In hospital I did three gym sessions - and that was with a chest drain in. A lot of people called me crazy, but that was just my way of dealing with it.
"I'm hoping to be on a static bike next week, but I won't be on the road for a few weeks - but I definitely will be back on a bike.
"I hope to resume full training at the start of the [new] year, so I'm still very determined. I've had bad crashes before and it hasn't stopped me. This is part of my job and was a freak injury. It was just bad luck."
