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Johansson hit by car, suffers two broken collarbones

published 15 January 2012

Swedish champion says training accident "could have been much worse"

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Emma Johannson (Hitek Products UCK) leads up the Kapelmuur (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Swedish road champion Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-Mistral Home) was hit by a car during a training ride on the island of Gran Canaria on Saturday and suffered two broken collarbones in the collision. She was training with her husband Martin Vestby when the accident occurred.

Johannson repeats at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

According to reports in Sportbladet, it's also possible that Johansson suffered a broken arm, but the 28-year-old has received conflicting diagnoses from doctors and it hasn't yet been confirmed.

"I am totally disabled now," Johansson told Sportbladet. "I drink through straws and need to be fed when I eat." Johansson, however, remains optimistic, saying it "could have been much worse", and hopes to begin racing in late February.

Johansson had a strong 2011 season highlighted by victory at the Internationale Thüringen Rundfahrt, a repeat win at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Swedish road title. She also finished the season ranked second overall, to Marianne Vos, in the UCI standings plus claimed third overall in the World Cup.

Johansson won a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic road race, and despite the setback in her season as a result of the accident, she expects to be fully recovered and ready to seek another medal this summer at the London Olympics. Johansson has already been selected for Sweden's team and doesn't have to worry about qualifying in the early months of the season.

"Now it's important that the injury heals completely," Johansson said. "But I have no pain in my legs and I can breathe so I might be able to pedal soon."