Former Olympic cyclist Toshiaka Fushimi has died due to critical injuries sustained in a horror crash at a bike race on Saturday.
The sport’s national governing body, the Japan Keirin Association (JKA), announced that the 50-year-old, who was hospitalised after crashing during the Matsusaka Keirin in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, died at 10.15am on Sunday.
Fushimi suffered fractures to his cervical vertebrae and skull after crashing into a safety barrier at the side of the track, trying to avoid a pile-up of riders in front of him as he worked his way from the back of the bunch.
The chairman of the JKA, Hiroshi Kido said: “It is truly heartbreaking that he lost his life in an accident during a race. We will reconfirm our safety measures and thoroughly ensure fair and safe races.”
Fushimi won Olympic silver in the team sprint at the Athens 2004 Games alongside Tomohiro Nagatsuka and Masaki Inoue.
He made his professional debut in the keirin in 1995, winning 619 races, five G1 titles and the Keirin Grand Prix twice, in 2001 and 2007. He returned to racing this May after a four-year lay-off.
Keirin racing is a discipline of track cycling which sees a group of six riders start behind a motorised pacemaker which gradually speeds up before peeling off, leading to a sprint to the line.
Malaysian former professional cyclist Josiah Ng Onn Lam paid tribute to Fushimi on social media. He wrote: “Toshiaki Fushimi wasn’t just a competitor. He was one of the best Keirin riders Japan has ever produced. Grand Prix winner. Olympic Silver Medalist. A true professional on the track.
“We raced against each other for years. That kind of rivalry builds a respect that doesn’t fade.
“Devastated to hear he lost his life doing what he loved. My thoughts are with his family and the entire Keirin community in Japan. Rest in peace, champion.”
