Lamecha Girma, an Ethiopian runner, hit his head in a dramatic fall on the final lap of the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Paris Olympics.
Girma, the current world record holder in the event and a silver medallist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, was in the final stretch with the rest of the field trying to overcome an obstacle.
But in the process, he hit his knee on the obstacle and fell headfirst onto the track, where he lay motionless.
The race continued and medics finally arrived at the track to attend to the fallen athlete.
Girma was fitted with a neck brace before being carried out on a stretcher by rescuers after the fall.
Lamecha Girma, world record holder in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, suffered a fall
Girma hit his head on the track after hitting an obstacle on the final lap of the race.
Medical professionals fitted him with a neck brace and carried him off the track on a stretcher.
It is unclear what his current condition is.
The race ended with an even bigger surprise when American long-distance runner Kenneth Rooks finished with a silver medal.
Rooks finished behind Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali and 0.06 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot.
Bakkali made history by becoming only the second man to successfully defend his Olympic steeplechase title since Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo did so at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
Girma won the silver medal in the same event at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, the 2022 World Championships in Eugene and the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
In June 2023, Girma broke the world record by running the 3000 meters in a time of 7:52:11, which was more than a second and a half faster than the old record that stood for 19 years.
