Australian Olympic medalist Shane Rose risks losing his place at the 2024 Paris Games due to a severe accident which has left him in ICU following a heavy fall from his horse, Virgil, during a cross-country session on Thursday, 15 March 24. The horse was not injured; however, the fall saw Shane rushed to intensive care, where he remains with serious injuries.
It has been reported that Shane has fractured his femur as well as pelvis and ribs. Having already undergone urgent surgery to stabilize his pelvis and femur, the question of his attendance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games now hangs in the balance.
Shane, who is based in Werombi, a district south of Sydney, has previously won team silver medals in 2008 at the Beijing Games and in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Games.
However, over recent years, he has had a run of bad luck. It was only last month Shane made headlines after wearing a bright orange ‘mankini’, where a complaint made against him saw him stand down from competition. However, Shane was cleared by Australia Equestrian to continue his commitment to the Paris Olympics following an investigation into the incident. He also previously qualified twice for the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2012 but could not attend due to injuries to his horses.
Health-wise, Rose has had what most would consider a run of extraordinarily bad luck – from being placed in an induced coma after a kick to the face by a horse; he previously reported to H&H, “I’ve broken most things: both my arms, both my legs, hands, both rib cages, my shoulder”. He can now, unfortunately, add to this his new injuries to his ribs, pelvis and femur. He attributes a lot of his injuries to simply ‘being around horses’, accepting they can be dangerous animals and that riders have to learn to look after themselves. He states that he is very careful about where he positions himself around horses now after his severe facial injury.
In spite of these injuries and a diagnosis of thyroid cancer in 2001, Rose seems to have the fortitude and strength to come back time and again. He is an exceptionally talented rider, and his ability to overcome ill fortune demonstrates that he is a most determined and resilient sportsman. We wish him a speedy recovery and sincerely hope this incident does not impede his ability to compete at the 2024 Paris games.
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