British equestrian overcomes near-fatal fall to win olympic gold

In the eventing competition at the Olympic Games, the best performance was by Laura Collett from Great Britain. The 35-year-old is a star in her discipline, but in 2013 she fell off a horse and had a severe accident. She fought for her life for several weeks, and to this day, she practically cannot see with one eye.

Laura Collett celebrated her gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but a decade ago she fought for her life.

After a severe fall from a horse in 2013, Collett was renewed five times and underwent a tracheotomy by paramedics after breaking her shoulder, breaking ribs, puncturing a lung, injuring her liver, and damaging her kidneys.

Additionally, a fragment of her shoulder bone detached and, along with blood, moved to her right eye, causing optic nerve damage. She was kept in a medically induced coma for six days. In an interview with Horse Magazine, she admitted that she still has vision problems in one eye.

I have blurry vision in one quarter of my eye, and the rest is hazy. The most troubling thing was the last week in the hospital when I was conscious - she said.

Laura cannot see with one eye but did not abandon her dreams of a sports career. - Everyone else was more worried than I was about getting back on a horse, but part of my rehabilitation was having a goal that I was constantly striving towards - she recounted.

Collett spent a lot of time at Oaksey House in Berkshire to recover quickly.

The Briton returned to health and sports in 2015, winning gold at the World Young Horse Championships. Collett was selected for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She was part of the team, along with fellow Britons Oliver Townend and Tom McEwen, that won team eventing gold.

The current Olympic Games in Paris turned out superbly for her, as she won gold in team eventing. On the same day, she also won bronze in the individual eventing competition.