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Dani King: I thought I would never ride again

Dani King, Wiggle-Honda
Image: Dani King: Olympic star feared injury would end career

Olympic champion Dani King admits she feared her cycling career was over after a horrific training crash earlier this month.

King, who won gold for Britain in the team pursuit at London 2012, was left with broken ribs and a collapsed lung after coming off her bike in South Wales.

She spent two days in intensive care, and 10 in hospital, but is making a quick recovery from her injuries and is already back in training - albeit not yet on a bike.

"There were loads of things running through my mind, like I would never ride again," King told the BBC.

"When I hit the floor I was fine. I thought I'd got off lightly. Then I felt excruciating pain as someone rode straight into my back and that's when all the damage was done.

"I could feel my ribs moving and was scared. I was in the road for an hour, it was raining. I lost feeling in my feet, which worried me.

"In hospital I did three gym sessions - and that was with a chest drain in. A lot of people called me crazy, but that was just my way of dealing with it.

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"I'm hoping to be on a static bike next week, but I won't be on the road for a few weeks - but I definitely will be back on a bike.

"I hope to resume full training at the start of the [new] year, so I'm still very determined. I've had bad crashes before and it hasn't stopped me. This is part of my job and was a freak injury. It was just bad luck."

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