Triple champion Timmer out of Winter Olympics

An X-ray revealed that Timmer had sustained multiple fractures to a bone in her left heel which will require three months to heal.

Dutch triple Olympic champion Marianne Timmer has been ruled out of the Vancouver Games after injuring herself in a World Cup event here, her coach revealed on Sunday.

An X-ray revealed that Timmer had sustained multiple fractures to a bone in her left heel which will require three months to heal, Jac Orie told Dutch press agency ANP.

The Dutchwoman also tore a ligament in her left ankle.

The injury occurred on Friday when she collided with falling Chinese competitor Jing Yu on the last turn of their 500m race, violently slamming against the exterior wall and being taken off the ice on a stretcher.

- It's the end of her season. It's really tragic because she was in great shape after doing lots of training last summer - said Orie.

Olympic champion over 1000m and 1500m in Nagano in 1998 and in the 1000m in Turin in 2006, 35-year-old Timmer is one of the biggest names in speed skating.

She has also been crowned world champion on three occasions.

The Vancouver Games in February would have been her fourth Olympic tournament.