New Zealand elite triathlete Tony Dodds has been involved in a serious accident while training in Germany.
Dodds, 24, is currently based in Darmstadt in the build-up to this weekend's leg of the ITU World Championship Series in Hamburg.
He is recovering today after a crash saw him launched through the back windscreen of a car while out training on his bike.
 Tony Dodds(Photo: Triathlon NZ; click to enlarge) |
 Tony Dodds' Arm(Photo: Triathlon NZ; click to enlarge) |
Thankfully Dodds escaped life-threatening injuries, but lost a lot of blood and ended up with 12 stiches around his elbow due to cuts from the windscreen that narrowly missed severing an artery.
"I was out biking by myself and on the ridiculously skinny roads that they have in Europe, a DHL van was parked half way off the curb, so our side of the road had to wait for oncoming traffic to go through before we did," Dodds explains.
"As I was coming down a slight hill we were about to pass the parked van but the car in front of me decided not to and jammed on his brakes, but it was too late and I slammed on my brakes and went flying through the back windscreen shattering it."
Dodds ended up with his torso through the rear windscreen of the car and his legs hanging out the back. As soon as he got over the initial shock he noticed blood pouring out of multiple wounds in his right arm with glass all around him.
The driver immediately jumped out and called an ambulance and other witnesses came to his aid while waiting for assistance. Dodds was rushed to hospital to have glass removed from his wounds, stitched up, bandaged and sent home in pain – but all too aware that the outcome could have been a lot worse.
Barring a miracle, the injury will rule Dodds out of Hamburg this weekend which is the final hit-out before New Zealand's first Olympic selection race in London on August 6th.
It's a serious blow to his campaign, especially given the great form he has been in of late racing in the German Bundesliga.
"I'm all bandaged up and very sore. I'm still unsure exactly what's going to happen, but I'm hoping it all heals up for London.
"This is definitely not what I wanted at this stage, but I have to live with what I have got and be grateful my head or any other part of my body wasn't slashed up.
"I was concerned about overtraining in the lead up to the London Olympic trials so I'm seeing the silver lining in the situation! Potentially this is actually an opportunity to rest and be well prepared for August."
Further updates on Dodds' progress can be found via his website www.tonydodds.com or his twitter account @doddsy_nz.
Dodds is the second casualty within a week for the New Zealand High Performance team, with James Elvery recently breaking his hand after slipping and falling hard on a training run.
