The Olympic BMX runner-up, in a coma after a "terrible" accident

Dutchman Van Gorkom, 27, suffers several serious injuries

Jelle van Gorkom, Olympic silver in Rio in the discipline of BMX, is in a coma after an accident that left him seriously injured, the Dutch Federation announced. The 27-year-old cyclist suffered a fall while training at the national center of Papendal in the east of the country. "After the accident, Jelle van Gorkom was taken to the hospital with broken ribs, a fracture of the face and skull and damage to the liver, spleen and kidneys. "At the moment he is in a coma," the federation explained on its website. The director of the sports center of Papendal, Jochem Schellens, described the accident as "terrible". According to the Federation, the accident occurred at the beginning of the session, when Van Gorkom lost control of the bicycle after the first of his jumps. "Our thoughts are with Jellie, her girlfriend, and the rest of the family, we wish her all the strength for the next few hours," Schellens said.