Armed Forces Cyclist, Air Force 2Lt Holly Borowski, Hit by Car
10 April 2006

Holly was on a training ride on Friday in California before her departure for the weekend's National Race Calendar event, the Sea Otter Classic. She was struck by a hit and run driver and required ambulance and emergency care. They initially thought that her femur was broken but x-rays thankfully showed it not to be the case. She left the hospital on crutches and could put no pressure on her leg. Determined to recover quickly, and armed with some good physical therapy advice, Holly now has most of her range of motion back and has progressed from crutches to walking to a two-hour easy spin on the bike. She won't be racing this coming weekend but after that expects to be back on schedule. The initial diagnosis was no racing until at least May so she's making amazing progress in just a few days!

There is no news on the driver of the truck that hit her. She gave the police a description and they have the side mirror. According to Holly, it could not gone unnoticed by the driver as she was not sideswiped but was actually hit by the front bumper. Five more cars passed by her as she waved for help while lying on the road. Finally, some folks stopped to help her and called for an ambulance. The medical responders put her on a backboard and had to cut her Armed Forces Team kit off of her. The fire department still has her team bike (we just sent it to her brand new last week) and the extent of the equipment damage is still unknown.

Holly, stationed at Beale AFB, CA, is a Maintenance Officer for the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial System. She is an Air Force Academy graduate where she raced in the collegiate ranks, winning a conference championship. Shortly after graduation, she won the 2004 U.S. Military National Road Race Championship in Redlands, CA. She's 23 years old and is currently in the process of applying for the Air Force World Class Athlete Program with hopes to train and race full time in preparation for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Holly has amazing focus, positive attitude and commitment to achieve great things in cycling - she'll undoubtedly make a strong comeback. We'll keep you updated on her progress.