Fields' doctors say he is awake and stable and is being evaluated.
“He will remain in the hospital under observation. Additional updates about his condition will be shared as they become available,” Dr. Jon Finnoff, Team USA’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.
Further details were not provided.
“He had a pretty hard slam. I heard it like I was just next to him,” bronze medalist Carlos Alberto Ramírez Yepes, of Colombia, told reporters afterward.
“I just hope he’s okay, I think he’s been a great ambassador for the sport,” said Netherlands' Niek Kimmann, who won gold.
Kimmann added: “For me it’s sad he wasn’t able to defend his gold medal … I can’t wait to medal with Connor again soon.”
Fields, 28, was a favorite for the podium after a strong showing in the quarterfinal on Thursday. After his crash, he finished eighth.
“There was kind of a point where I exited the last corner and realized I was winning,“he said then. “I was like: ‘Get to the line! Get to the line!’ I crossed that finish line and dropped to my knees. I couldn’t believe it.”
Fieldscompeted in Rio with a braceafter recovering from a hand injury.
“I would be lying if I said there weren’t any dark times,” he said in 2016. “They say adversity makes you stronger if you let it.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
