Initially following a crash in May, Canadian cyclist Clara Hughes made it clear that she made it out of the crash with nothing more than a few cuts and bruises.

“After a trip to the hospital where I was treated with care and concern by Dr. Chow,” wrote Hughes. “He made sure via X-rays that I didn’t break a rib or fracture a vertebra. I didn’t actually hit the ground so there’s no road rash, just a lot of pain in the form of hematomas, bumps and bruises.”

Finally, Hughes revealed her secret after Wednesday’s Olympic time trial.

“I had a really bad accident in May and actually broke my back and had a fractured vertebrae from that accident in Gatineau that I had to push through a lot of pain for about five or six weeks,” said Hughes after the race. “I’ve never experienced that kind of pain.”

Hughes had reason to keep quiet about her injuries; if she had announced the true nature of  her injuries, there is a high probability that she would have been left behind as the national cycling team headed to the 2012 London Olympic Games.