Australian BMX rider and Olympics silver medallist Sam Willoughby remains seriously injured after a crash during training which left him with spinal damage, with reports indicating that he does not have any feeling below his chest.

Willoughby, who won silver for Australia in BMX at London, was training in the United States when he crashed his bike at a track near Chula Vista on September 10th, and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. He suffered fractures to his C6 and C7 vertebrae, which severely compressed his spine. He was left with no movement below his chest.

His family issued a statement via Cycling Australia:

At this stage, Sam still has no movement from his chest down but has regained use of his arms and is slowly regaining some sensation in his legs. Sam’s next step is to begin a long road of recovery at a rehabilitation centre and, while the details are still to be finalised, at this stage, it is expected that Sam will be transported to a US-based rehabilitation centre in the next few days.

The family has said that the support for Willoughby has been incredible and that they are grateful that the surgery was successful enough at decompressing his spinal cord that a second, stabilising procedure was not necessary.

You can contribute to his recovery fund HERE.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: road2recovery.

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