Jeanette Ottesen, a Danish world champion, and her boyfriend Marco Loughran, an English swimmer who competed for Florida at the NCAA level, have both been injured after being assaulted during a road rage attack in Copenhagen.
According to Ottesen, the attacker felt that Ottesen and Loughran were not moving fast enough, and pulled in front of the car and cut them off before grasping Loughran out of the car to pummel him.
Ottesen tried to defend Loughran, but suffered a broken finger and a sprain of another finger.
Loughran was much worse off, as he suffered a split eyebrow, several broken teeth, an injured shoulder and a scalp injury.
Loughran is currently in the hospital to treat his injuries. He did not qualify for Great Britain’s world championship team, but is aiming for a place at the 2016 Olympics while he trains in Denmark.
Ottesen, meanwhile, may not compete in the World Championship at all. That’s a huge blow for Denmark with Ottesen currently second in the world in the 50 fly (25.48) and 100 fly (57.15). Ottesen would be defending her 2013 world title in the 50 butterfly.
Ottesen has been told that she cannot swim for the next three weeks, putting her chances of competing at the World Championships that begin Aug. 2 in serious jeopardy.
For full details of the attack, please visit Sports TV2 in Danish and Wales Online.
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Marco Loughran was competing at the world championships.
Wow crazy. Hope they are ok.
This infuriates me. I’ve had it with these dangerous, crazy drivers. It’s sad to see that even mellow Denmark isn’t immune to them. Best wishes and healing thoughts to both swimmers and although it doesn’t sound likely, I hope they can sometime heal in time to swim at Worlds.
Sad to read this. People need to leave a few minutes earlier and not always be so rushed….and stay off electronics while driving!
Where does it say that she has to stay out of the water for three weeks? As a native dane I cannot find that in any of the articles in the danish papers? It says in two of them that she is back in the water after two days of pause….
RC, the articles we have seen have said both. 3 weeks of no swimming from doctors, and also that she tried to get in the water already and there was too much pain.
There’s a LOT of reporting out there right now about this, and we’ll just have to wait and see if Ottesen can go or not.
Oh my gosh! Josh Williamson Laura Williamson hope they are ok guys!