Triathlete Simon Whitfield suffered broken collarbone in crash
Simon Whitfield was left with more than stitches after the devastating crash that forced him to withdraw from the Olympic triathlon event on Tuesday.
Whitfield announced on his Twitter account Wednesday morning he suffered a broken collarbone from the incident, but was still in good spirits.
"Broken collarbone confirm. Small break, not displaced but Mark and Adam won medals so I'm smiling. Off to the park," he tweeted.
There was no immediate word on recovery time for the triathlete.
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The Victoria, B.C. native crashed after completing the 1.5-kilometre swim portion of the race and appeared to have lost control when he stumbled over a speedbump while on his bike.
He told CBC Sports Weekend host Scott Russell later it was a bit of an unlucky break.
"I just hit the speedbump – there’s a speedbump on the course – we’d scouted it, I knew it was there, but I just hit it at exactly the wrong moment, just as I was switching my hands."
A team official later said he had to receive stitches on his left foot, which was confirmed by Whitfield.
"I have quite a few stitches in my big toe and I have quite a few solid gashes," he said. "I now know where the artery in my foot goes, because it was bleeding pretty good."
Whitfield had medalled twice in the event and is the reigning silver medallist from Beijing in 2008. The 37-year-old won gold at the Sydney Games in 2000.
He was Canada's flag-bearer at the opening ceremonies this year.
With files from CBC Sports