Laura Collett's triumph: Winning gold with one eye at Paris olympics
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 serious 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 she fought for her life a decade ago.
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 blurred vision in a quarter of the eye, and the rest is blacked out. I have no recollection of my accident at all - she said.
Laura could not see with one eye, but she did not abandon her dream of a sports career. - Everyone else was more worried about me getting on a horse for the first time than I was, but it was part of me getting better as it gave me something to look forward to - she recounted.
The Briton sees with only one eye. She wins medals
Collett spent much 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 was superb for her, as she won gold in team eventing. On the same day, she won bronze in an individual event.
