Polish skater Kamila Sellier cut by rival's blade in Olympic 1500 m

On 20 February 2026, during the women's 1500 m short track quarterfinal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Polish skater Kamila Sellier fell in a multi-skater collision. As she went down, the blade of American Kristen Santos-Griswold struck her in the face, cutting the area around her eye. Italy's Arianna Fontana also fell in the incident.

Sellier lay on the ice while medics attended to her, and she was carried off on a stretcher. She received stitches at the arena and was then taken to hospital for further examinations. Polish officials said her eye had not been damaged, and they reported cuts to her cheek and eyelid.

According to Associated Press reporting, Santos-Griswold was penalised for an illegal lane pass that contributed to the crash, which ended her run in the quarterfinal. The accident was one of the most frightening moments of the short track programme and renewed discussion about safety in a sport where skaters race at high speed in close, blade-to-blade contact. For Sellier, it ended her Olympic races and began a recovery that later affected her return to training.