New Zealand's top mountainbiker Vanessa Quin has broken her neck for a second time but again escaped being paralysed.
The latest accident has come during the national championships in Nelson at the weekend.
The crash has left Quin with a fractured C2 vertebra, cracked sternum and injuries to her hands.
But Quin is acutely aware it could have been much worse.
"It's not the most stable of fractures, but I'm walking and wiggling my toes, so I do feel lucky," Quin told ONE News.
Not realising how bad her injuries were, Quin walked almost a kilometre to the first-aid tent, before her neck was immobilised.
Quin will be in a metal brace for up to 10 weeks, but the former world downhill champion is vowing to ride again.
"It hasn't put me off," she says.
"I don't want anyone to think mountain biking is a bad sport and stop people from having a go - I think it's an awesome sport."
