Olympic gold medallist Laura Collett suffered an horrific fallback in 2013 which left her in a coma for six days.
The 31-year-old triumphed in the equestrian team eventing on Monday morning and claimed her first Olympic gold medal in the process.
The accident happened eight years ago during a cross-country event in Hampshire after Collett fell off her horse.
She had to be resuscitated five times and given an emergency tracheotomy by paramedics.
The horse rider also suffered a punctured lung, lacerated liver, a fractured shoulder and two broken ribs and was even left unable to see from one eye.
The challenges of overcoming such a significant setback are great, but after spending time at Oaksey House in Berkshire, flagship rehabilitation centre of the Injured Jockeys Fund, Laura got back on track.
Just seven weeks later, she was competing once again and won an open intermediate class upon her return.
After overcoming adversity early in her career, Collett arrived on the world’s biggest stage in Tokyo and alongside Oliver Townend and Tom McEwen, produced a dominant display in the showjumping finale at Tokyo Equestrian Park.
It is Great Britain's first Olympic team gold in eventing since Munich 1972, while Australia took silver and France bronze.
It is only Britain's third Olympic team crown in eventing after Stockholm in 1956 and Munich 16 years later.
Collett, who dropped places individually after having one fence down, added: "He (London 52) was his normal self at the start, then I think there was a reflection off the water and he just spooked, basically.
"He got it back together. It's a shame, but it could have been a whole lot worse in that situation. It was a very clever course."
Laura took to Instagram after her win and reposted a post from equiratings’ account with the simple message of: “SPEECHLESS”.
