Katie Archibald ruled out of Olympics after freak garden accident

Katie Archibald, the two-time Olympic champion and one of Team GB’s biggest medal hopes at Paris 2024, has been ruled out of this summer’s Olympics after suffering a double leg break in a freak accident.

The Scottish track cyclist, 30, fractured a tibia and fibula and dislocated an ankle after tripping over a garden step. She also sustained substantial ligament damage during the incident on Tuesday and has since undergone surgery. Archibald confirmed the news on Instagram on Thursday, alongside a picture of her in a hospital bed.

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

“A hundred apologies for what this means for the Olympic team, which I’ve been told won’t involve me. I’m still processing that bit of news, but thought I better confirm it publicly instead of leaving it to the grapevine [trip hazard and all that].” The Olympics take place between July 26 and August 11.

The development is all the more devastating for Archibald given what she has been through in the past couple of years. Her partner Rab Wardell, a Scottish mountain bike champion, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest while he and Archibald were in bed together in August 2022.

Archibald gave a powerful interview to the Telegraph last August, on the eve of the World Championships in Glasgow, in which she opened up for the first time about his death and how it had affected her. She had already missed the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after colliding with a vehicle amid a series of injury setbacks, and was suffering with her mental health.

Incredibly, she went on to lead the women’s pursuit team to victory at Glasgow 2023, adding a fifth world title to her palmares.

Archibald, who won team pursuit gold at Rio 2016 and then topped the podium in the madison alongside Laura Kenny at Tokyo 2020, will be hugely missed by the Great Britain team in Paris. She was targeting three gold medals, in the team pursuit, the omnium and the madison.

The Scot emerged as the powerhouse of the squad after Tokyo, both in terms of her riding and leadership, and the team would have been leaning on her even more following Kenny’s retirement earlier this year.

“A hundred thank yous for the fabulous doctors, nurses, radiographers, porters, physios, surgeons and more at the Manchester Royal Infirmary,” Archibald added in her social media post. “Might be back with more updates, might be gone from the socials for a bit. Katie x”.

British Cycling will now delay Monday’s announcement for the selection for the women’s endurance Team until July 4 following the news.

“Earlier this week, Katie Archibald had an accident at home which has resulted in a broken ankle which she has since had surgery on,” British Cycling’s statement read.

“Following medical advice, this unfortunately means that Katie will be unable to compete at the upcoming Olympic Games. We share in Katie’s heartbreak over her injury, and the cruel manner in which she has been denied the chance to ride for the medals she so coveted in Paris.

“Our focus is now on providing Katie with the best possible support as she begins her recovery, and we know that the whole cycling community will be right behind her for every step.”