BMX rider Connor Fields unsure about Paris after brain-injury crash in Tokyo: 'Do people realize I nearly died?'
After a horrific crash at the Tokyo Olympics that left him hospitalized with a brain injury, U.S. BMX rider Connor Fields is home in Henderson, Nevada.
In his first extended public comments since the July 29 accident that saw him carried from the Olympic BMX track on a stretcher, Fields thanked his supporters and detailed his experience of the crash in social media posts on Friday and early Saturday.
He's also not sure about a 2024 return to the Olympics in Paris. He made that crystal clear in a Twitter post, responding to supporters encouraging him to rally for his second Olympic gold medal.
'Do people realize I nearly died?'
The number of comments I’m getting saying “Paris is in 3 years!”
Do people realize I nearly died? Brain hemmorage? 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....— Connor Fields (@connorfields11) August 7, 2021
Fields, a 2016 gold medalist in Rio, crashed and slammed into the ground during qualifying in Tokyo. Two other riders crashed into him after his fall. He remained motionless on the track until medical staff could tend to him.
He suffered a brain hemorrhage, broken ribs and a collapsed lung and spent five days at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo. He was released on Wednesday after doctors determined he didn't suffer any further injury.
He felt well enough on Thursday to joke on social media about his hospital release making headlines.
Momma I made it! https://t.co/d2wHLCfV2E
— Connor Fields (@connorfields11) August 5, 2021
'What's next? I do not know'
On Friday, he posted an Instagram message alongside an image of himself smiling at home on the couch with his family. He also included images from his crash scene and his plane ride home.
He wrote that he doesn't remember the "4-5 days" after the crash and that he learned that he'd qualified for the Olympic finals he wouldn't compete in as he was being carried from the track on a stretcher.
As for what's next?
"I do not know, time to get healthy, rest up a bit, and appreciate the people around me who have been so amazing this month," Fields wrote.
Fields' Instagram post went live about five hours before his Twitter post about Paris. He's clearly not ready to think about getting back on the bike. He's also appreciative that he's relatively OK after a terrifying end to his Tokyo Olympics.
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