Jelle van Gorkom (born 5 January 1991 in Doetinchem) is a Dutch racing cyclist and Olympic silver medalist who represents the Netherlands in BMX racing. He was selected to represent the Netherlands at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the men's BMX event,[1] and went on to win the silver medal in the same event four years later at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Jelle van Gorkom
Van Gorkom at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
NationalityDutch
Born (1991-01-05) 5 January 1991 (age 33)
Doetinchem, Netherlands
Sport
Country Netherlands
SportCycling
EventBMX racing
Medal record
Men's BMX racing
Representing  Netherlands
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 0
World Championships 0 2 0
World Junior Championships 0 0 1
World Cup 0 1 0
European Junior Championships 1 1 1
Total 1 5 2
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro BMX racing
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2011 Copenhagen BMX time trial
Silver medal – second place 2015 Heusden-Zolder BMX racing
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2013 BMX racing
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Taiyuan BMX cruiser
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 BMX racing
Silver medal – second place 2008 BMX cruiser
Bronze medal – third place 2008 BMX racing

On 9 January 2018, Van Gorkom suffered a serious crash in training at the National Sports Centre Papendal near Arnhem. He suffered damage to his skull, spleen, kidneys and liver, as well as broken ribs and a facial fracture, and went into a coma.[2] On 13 January, the Royal Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU) announced that Van Gorkom was no longer receiving sleep medication, meaning "he must wake up from the coma on his own".[3] On 22 January, KNWU officials said that he had awoken from the coma, but cautioned that the rider still faced a long rehabilitation.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Men's BMX Racing". London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Dutch Olympic BMX silver medallist in coma after accident". BBC Sport. 10 January 2018.
  3. ^ "'Impossible to estimate' when BMX rider will wake from coma". BBC Sport. 13 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Jelle van Gorkom on long road to recovery after waking up from coma". The Straits Times. 23 January 2018.
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