“My spine looks like an Ikea folding table”

The 27-year-old collided with a young Dutch driver during training at 60 km/h at the end of June and suffered injuries most serious back injuries . Vogel experienced the accident himself as follows: “During training, I did sprints with Pauline Grabosch, my teammate, she in the front, both of us in the aerodynamic position. Then she swerved, I took the lead, and then everything was black, deep black. My next memory is waking up again on the track." When a teammate of the Olympic champion took off her racing shoes, the shock came: "I didn't notice that my shoes had been taken off. I knew straight away that that was it. Now I’m a paraplegic.”

Vogel continued: “It was good that I noticed it myself, right on the train, so the news didn’t completely overwhelm me. But of course: It sucks, there's no other way to say it. It sucks. No matter how you package it, I can't walk anymore. And that can no longer be changed. But what should I do? I always believe that the quicker you accept a new situation, the better you will cope with it.”

“I was in pain, there are no words for it.” The German fought for her life in the first two weeks. “At one point I really thought I was going to die. A few operations had to be done and I also had severe pneumonia. I was in an induced coma for several days and was in pain, there are no words for it.” Vogel was deeply shocked when she saw the first X-ray images of her injury. “In the first x-rays, my spine looks like an Ikea folding table. But I'm very lucky that I'm still alive and that I still have fully functional arms. I could easily have been paralyzed from the neck down.”

Vogel would like to return home by the end of the year. Construction work is currently taking place there to adapt the rooms to the circumstances.

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“My spine looks like an Ikea folding table”

Kristina Vogel is paraplegic. The two-time Olympic track cycling champion now has to live with this shock. She told “Spiegel” the most difficult moments in her life so far.

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