Velodrome owners promise to “explore” ways to improve rider and fan safety after “unsettling” crash which saw Olympic champion Katy Marchant catapult over new barriers and into crowd

The authority in charge of the Lee Valley Velodrome, where Olympic team sprint champion Katy Marchant suffered a broken arm in a horrendous crash which saw her catapult over the barriers and into the crowd during Saturday’s UCI Track Champions League event, have pledged to reassess the venue’s safety protocols following the shocking incident, the second such crash involving spectators on that track and the second since new, taller Perspex barriers were introduced this year.

The crash on Saturday occurred as Marchant, who won gold in Paris as part of Great Britain’s team sprint squad alongside Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell, was taking part in the first round of the keirin during the grand final of the UCI Track Champions League at London’s Lee Valley Velodrome, the scene of the 2012 Olympic track programme.

However, during the last lap of the race, the 31-year-old collided with Germany’s Alessa-Catriona Pröpster as they battled for space on a bend, sending the pair careening to the right towards the top of the banking, before they were catapulted over the barriers and into the crowd, Marchant landing headfirst into a row of fans.

Marchant (left) racing during the first round of the sprint during the Track Champions League grand final last Saturday, with the Perspex barriers visible in the background (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Following the horror crash, four spectators received medical assistance for what was later revealed to be “minor” injuries, while Pröpster was able to walk away after ten minutes. According to one spectator involved in the crash, who posted on social media describing it as a “scary moment for us all”, the four injured fans were discharged from hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Marchant, however, remained on the floor, where she was accompanied by her husband Rob, receiving treatment for around half an hour before she was carried out of the velodrome and taken to hospital. Racing was suspended as Marchant was being treated, and eventually called off completely, as spectators were told to leave the velodrome.

On Sunday morning, British Cycling confirmed that Marchant – who followed up her Olympic success with a maiden world team sprint title in Ballerup in October, again alongside Capewell and Finucane – had suffered two broken bones in her forearm in the crash, but was otherwise in “good spirits”.

> “Why did the barriers completely fail to do exactly what they were fitted for?” Horror crash into crowd sees Olympic champion Katy Marchant suffer broken arm – months after taller safety barriers fitted around track following similar crash

Marchant’s shocking crash came just under three months after Lee Valley VeloPark installed a new 1.4m-high Perspex safety barrier around the London track, in the wake of a similarly horrific incident at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which saw Olympic omnium champion Matt Walls catapulted over the advertising barriers and into the crowd, leaving one spectator with a serious arm injury.

(Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)

The £250,000 barrier, described by Lee Valley as a “UK-first”, was fitted in August as part of a series of improvements being made to the velodrome, with last Saturday’s races marking only the second time the perplex shields had been used in competition.

Their inability, however, to prevent Marchant’s crash provoked much debate on social media, with one fan describing the new taller fences as a “an abject failure”.

But in a statement on Thursday, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority said it will examine where more safety improvements can be made ahead of the venue’s next major event in 2025, noting that the track has already reopened to the public following the weekend’s aborted races.

“First and foremost, our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the unfortunate incident on Saturday evening. It was a truly unsettling occurrence and we understand the distress it must have caused to everyone involved,” the statement said.

“We are pleased to hear that Katy Marchant is in good spirits and that the necessary measures are being taken to follow up with impacted spectators.

“The safety of riders and spectators is an absolute priority for Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Our next major event is in autumn 2025 and we will work with event partners to explore what else can be done at the venue to improve rider and event spectator safety within the rules and technical regulations which govern track cycling.

“Structural engineers checked the barrier on Sunday, 8 December, and it is undamaged, and the track reopened as planned to the public on Monday.”