A Winter Olympian suffered a gruesome freak injury when he crashed into a wrongly closed barrier at a track being used for the 2022 Beijing Games

• A Polish luger required surgery following a crash into a barrier at a track built for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
• Mateusz Sochowicz fractured his kneecap and cut his leg to the bone after the barrier failed to open.
• The luger said he hoped to be fit in time for the games, but wondered if he would be "able to rebuild mentally."

A Polish luge athlete has said he may never be able to mentally recover after fracturing his knee in a horror crash at the track intended for use during the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

Mateusz Sochowicz was training at the track in Yanqing, which has been purposely built for next year's Winter Games, when he crashed into a barrier that had failed to open.

All barriers on the track should open when a sled is on track according to a release from the Polish Toboggan Sports Association, as reported by the Associated Press.

"Our leading competitor, Mateusz (Mewa) Sochowicz, suffered an accident during training at the track in Yanqing near Beijing," the Polish Toboggan Sports Association said in a statement, per Reuters.

"Mateusz hit the closed crossing gate during his sliding," it added.

As well as the knee injury, Reuters reports Sochowicz went to hospital for treatment on his right leg which had been cut to the bone.

Speaking to Polish media outlet Onet, the 25-year-old said the crash could have resulted in "tragedy."

"I got the green light so I moved on. For the first time, I was able to calmly ride these two difficult bends. Suddenly, however, I saw a closed gate on the track," he said.

"I then let the sled out from under me and took the position like a downhill skier.

"I was hoping that at this speed I would be able to jump over the barrier. However, everything was happening too fast and I didn't have time to bounce.

"That's why my legs are broken, not the rest of my body. If I hadn't reacted, it could have resulted in a tragedy."

Sochowicz, who represented Poland at the 2018 Winter Olympics, also said the track team had been slow to react meaning he was forced to spend half an hour on the ice before being transported to hospital.

"The track team showed great incompetence," he said.

"They didn't know what to do at all. Someone came to me and tried to touch my exposed bone with a glove.

"Dante-esque scenes were happening there."

The luger said he hoped to be back in time for the games which start in February, but said he did not know if he would be able to "rebuild mentally."

"I hope to start in Beijing. If the International Luge Federation gave me a wildcard and I could focus only on recovery, maybe there would be a chance," he told Onet.

"However, there is a bigger problem. I don't know if I will be able to rebuild mentally.

"I don't know if I will ever be able to go on this track, I would be afraid that something might be waiting for me just around the corner."

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