Polish speed skater Kamila Sellier is sharing a hopeful update after her face was accidentally slashed by a blade in the middle of her 2026 Winter Olympics race.
“I know that one day I’ll look at this picture and remember that I’m stronger than I ever believed,” Sellier, 25, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 21, alongside a selfie from a hospital bed. “Thank you for all your words of support.”
She continued, “[I] just wanted to let you know that I’m doing quite OK.”
In Sellier’s upload, she offered a closed-mouth smile as she posed in a hospital gown. The pro athlete also made a heart gesture out of her thumb and index finger.
Sellier competed in the women’s 1500m event on Friday, February 20, when she crashed into Team USA skater Kristen Santos-Griswold on the ice. Santos-Griswold’s blade cut Sellier’s face.
Santos-Griswold, 31, was penalized for an illegal lane pass that contributed to the accident and was subsequently eliminated from the competition. As for Sellier, she was stretchered off the ice by local medical staff. She flashed a thumbs up to the Olympics crowd amid her exit.
Polish journalist Mateusz Ligęza reported at the time that Sellier was conscious the whole time and damaged her zygomatic bone, also known as her cheekbone.
“She was conscious the whole time after that disastrous contact with the skate,” Ligęza claimed via X.
CBC reporter Devin Heroux, meanwhile, suggested that poor ice conditions could have been the cause of Sellier’s injury.
“Ice conditions have been a topic of conversation throughout the Olympics here,” Heroux tweeted on Friday. “It’s the same venue for short track and figure skating. And after two weeks of blades tearing up the ice, it appears it’s just not holding up on the final evening of competition.”
The journalist added, “More context. It was the hottest day yet of the Olympics in Milano today. The temperature soared to 18 C. And it appears the ice is deteriorating. Horrible for the athletes.”
Sellier is a short tracker skater who had been documenting her experience at the Milan Cortina Olympics via social media.
“Have fun it’s just [the Olympic] Games,” she wrote via Instagram on February 10, adding a hashtag for the phrase, “Let’s go.”
Sellier previously helped Team Poland clinch silver at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in March 2025.
“It’s a historical day for our team,” Sellier told reporters at the time. “It’s our first medal in the World Championships. I’m really happy. I’m really proud of our team. We delivered at the most important competition of the year.”
In her personal life, Kamila married fellow speed skater Diané Sellier in May 2025. Diané, 24, did not compete at the 2026 Olympics but was his wife’s No. 1 supporter.
“Everyone please send positive energy for [a] good recovery of my wife, who had a terrible crash at the Olympics,” Diané wrote via his Instagram Stories on Saturday, February 21. “She is strong and will be back stronger.”
