What happened to Chloe Dygert? All you need to know about the American's crash at the 2024 Paris Olympics

By Anirudh

Modified Aug 05, 2024 18:10 GMT

Cyclist Chloe Dygert clinched the bronze medal in the 32.4km individual time trial of the road cycling event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She finished with a time of 41:10.70 to earn her spot on the podium.

Australia's Grace Brown (39:38:24) clinched the gold medal while Great Britain's Anna Henderson (41:09.83) took home the silver. Local favorite Juliette Labous finished fourth, Netherlands' Demi Vollering ended up fifth and Belgium's Lotte Kopecky placed sixth.

World champion Dygert, who has two Olympic medals and 12 World Championships gold medals to her name, remarkably won the bronze medal despite crashing in the race. She managed to make a quick recovery and win Team USA's second medal in Paris.

She was less than a second off from taking home the silver medal.

A video of her crash can be seen below:

It caps a remarkable comeback story for Dygert, who has been dealing with several setbacks recently, the biggest being a crash in 2020 that required multiple surgeries to her left leg, knee, and Achilles injuries. She has also had heart surgery, fought the Epstein-Barr virus, and even had to deal with COVID-19.

Chloe Dygert not the only cyclist to have fall at 2024 Paris Olympics

Team USA's Chloe Dygert in action at the 2024 Paris Olympics - Getty Images

Chloe Dygert fell on a wet street during the race. She crashed on a cobblestone stretch just before the second time check, when she was 51 seconds behind Grace Brown. After the event, she had to be helped by two people to walk as she had injured her left leg in the crash.

Speaking to the media after winning the silver medal, Anna Henderson stated that she had to be super cautious due to the conditions and was happy to be able to find a palce on the podium.

"It is really strange, I kind of blacked out through the whole thing. I knew I had to be super cautious because a lot of the girls had problems today. I am just really happy to be here and happy it paid off. I can't say anything else," she said. (via BBC)

Meanwhile, Chloe Dygert's right leg was spasming after the event and she even had to take a break before speaking to media.

The 27-year-old was getting treated on her left leg for injuries before going up to the podium and taking the bronze medal. She was not the only cyclist who had a fall during the event. Several fell during the race, with the wet, greasy roads with paving stones being the biggest culprits.

American triathlete Taylor Knibb fell as many as three times and ended up finishing 19th with a time of 43:03.46. Even her mechanic ended up in a crash while trying to give her a new bike. Belgium's Lotte Kopecky and Denmark's Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig were some of the other cyclists who had a fall during the race.