Lara van Ruijven, a world champion short track speed skater from the Netherlands, is “fighting for her life” with an autoimmune disorder in intensive care, a Dutch short track coach said.
Van Ruijven, 27, was hospitalized last week after feeling ill at a training camp in the French Pyrenees. Complications arose over the weekend, including internal bleeding.
The Dutch speed skating federation said Monday that her condition was stable but critical. On Wednesday, the federation said her condition deteriorated: still critical, with no signs of recovery after two surgeries.
“With incredible perseverance she has won the world title on the ice, but this battle is many times tougher,” Dutch coach Jeroen Otter, who has been with van Ruijven in the hospital said, according to a Reuters translation of a press release.