TRAGIC

Spectator Killed After Athlete’s Hammer Throw Hit Him

A father in Colorado was hit by a heavy metal ball which went out of bounds.

A sports spectator has died after a university athlete threw a hammer out of bounds at a field and track event in Colorado, according to local media reports. The man died at the scene on Sunday morning after medics and emergency services were called to Colorado Springs’ athletics track at the University of Colorado. The university’s chancellor Jennifer Sobanet made a statement to the TV station KKTV after the death was reported, stating she was “heartbroken at the horrible accident.” The man who died was a father of a local high school student representing the Colorado United Track Club, according to KRDO 13. The ‘hammer’ used in athletics is described as a “metal ball that’s attached to a grip by a steel wire” by World Athletics and it weighs 16 pounds for men’s events. Athletes throw hammers after spinning round 360 degrees. They are normally surrounded by a net which protects against injuries at the point of release. The men’s world record for the hammer throw is a whopping 86.74 meters, held by the Soviet Russian champion Yuriy Sedykh.