British decathlete Ben Gregory is in a coma and fighting for his life after being seriously injured in a bike crash, his fiancee has said.
Naomi Heffernan said the Team GB star suffered fractures to his skull and neck and multiple haemorrhages to his brain in the accident, and is on life support.
Gregory, 31, represented Britain and competed for Wales at three Commonwealth Games — in Delhi in 2010, Glasgow in 2014 and Australia’s Gold Coast in 2018.
He has since carved out a career in personal training and coaching.
Ms Heffernan, who is also a coach, said she has “never felt so scared, helpless and sick to the stomach” following the crash on Friday afternoon.
She delivered the news through a post on Instagram Stories, which included a photo of her boyfriend kissing her on the cheek.
“Ben needs your positive thoughts and prayers right now,” she wrote on Saturday. “Those that know Ben know how strong he is mentally and physically, he’s a fighter and he’ll get through this.
“Please pray for him and send all the positive energy and thoughts you can muster.”
On Sunday, Ms Heffernan took to social media to offer an update and thank fans for their well wishes.
She said she hoped to know more about her boyfriend’s condition on Monday “when they put a sedation hold on him”. She added that “his reaction to that will say which way this is going to go”.
“This is going to be a long road to recovery, but I know how much love and support he has from his friends and family and I have every faith he’s going to pull through,” she said. “He has so much to live for and that will get him through this.”
Retired heptathlete Kelly Sotherton, Team England’s team leader for athletics at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, was among the sports
Read more on thenationalnews.com
thenationalnews.com
