2016 Olympic BMX gold medalist Connor Fields suffered a brain hemorrhage, a broken rib, and a collapsed lung during a crash in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic semifinals earlier this month. In the middle of his third semifinal heat, Fields' front wheel landed on another cyclist's back wheel and the collision sent him crashing face first into the ground. Fields immediately left the track in a stretcher and was taken to the hospital.
On Monday, Fields posted an update on Instagram detailing his current condition and revealed that he is "completely missing" multiple days from his memory. The American BMX star also can't remember parts of the day in which the crash occurred.
Luckily for Fields, a follow-up CT scan showed that he had no additional injuries.
"I am finally back home and on the road to recovery from Tokyo," Fields wrote. "I have about 4-5 days that are completely missing from memory from competition day to the following few days. I am so thankful for the Team USA and USA Cycling staff who were there to help me the whole way through this process and get me home."
While Fields is on the road to recovery, he is unsure about his future when it comes to BMX competition.
"The number of comments I'm getting saying 'Paris is in 3 years!'" Fields added. "Do people realize I nearly died? Brain hemorrhage? No memory ... Maybe I'm not ready to commit to that yet? Can we chill for just a sec? Maybe focus on lunch next week first."
Fields was in second place in the semifinal race when the crash happened. The Netherlands' Niek Kimmann ended up winning the gold medal in the BMX event, but Fields was in a strong position to potentially do so prior to the life-changing crash.
