THE FIANCEE of comatose Team GB and Wales decathlete Ben Gregory has revealed he has taken his first breaths without assistance since being hit by a car while cycling.
Gregory, 31, was left fighting for his life after a horrific crash on August 19.
The Team GB and Welsh decathlete suffered multiple brain haemorrhages and a fractured skull and neck after the collision.
In a positive development on his condition, fiancee Naomi Heffernan has confirmed Gregory has taken his first breaths without assistance and should soon start to come out of his coma.
However, Gregory will have “no memory” of his family and will have to “learn how to move again, obey commands, re-learn how to think and how to talk and walk”.
Heffernan said on Instagram: “The doctors said we are now out of the storm but what has seemed like the hardest two weeks of our lives are about to get harder.
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“But I’m certain of this, Ben would never want us to doubt him, ever.
“This is going to the hardest thing he’s ever had to go through. Me too.
“But with his incredible army behind him and Ben’s love for life and his drive I know he’s going to defy all the odds, he’s going to surprise every doctor and nurse and he’s going to get through this in a way that they’ve never seen before.
‘Ben will never be the Ben you once knew but he will be an even better version, Ben 2.0 with even more strength and light than any of us can imagine.”
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Gregory has represented Wales at three Commonwealth Games and also Great Britain at other events.
In October 2020 Gregory managed to escape serious injury in another bike crash.
His bike was involved in a collision with a car in London but he was able to walk away from the incident.
Outside of athletics, Gregory works as a model and personal trainer.
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk