Two-time Olympic track cycling champion Kristina Vogel of Germany is paraplegic following a training accident in June.
"Regardless of how you said it, I can't walk," Vogel said in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine.
"What can I do? I have always said the sooner you accept a new situation the better you can cope with it.
"That's why I am telling myself: OK, that's what it is now and I must see how I continue, what I can make out of it."
The 27-year-old suffered the spinal injuries when colliding with another rider on a track in the eastern German city of Cottbus on June 26.
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She was in an induced coma, underwent two operations and now hopes to be able to leave the hospital before Christmas.
Vogel won Olympic gold in the team sprint at the London Velodrome in 2012 and individual sprint gold in Rio de Janeiro four years later. She is also an 11-time world champion.
The accident sent shock waves through the German cycling community, and her Chemnitz-based team has raised around 120,000 euros ($192,000) for her.
Vogel said she realised right after the accident, while lying on the track, that she was paraplegic.
"I saw someone walk away with my shoes. But I didn't feel it when they were taken off. I realised immediately now I am paraplegic, there will be no more walking," she said.
Updates on the condition of 2016 Olympic sprint champion Vogel were not given since late June, and Vogel told Der Spiegel she wanted it that way because "I didn't want to be seen this hurt.
"Now I can say I have reached a point where I can say: Here I am and I am fine. I am still the same crazy person. I want to be a motivation for others."
