Weight Tossed in Indoor Hammer Throw Event Kills Spectator at Track Meet
A heavy weight thrown by a participant at an indoor high school track meet cleared safety barriers and struck and killed a spectator in Colorado Springs on Sunday, the event organizers said.
'A member of the attending audience was killed when a hammer thrown by a participant cleared certified barriers and struck him,' said a statement from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, which hosted the meet at its Mountain Lion Fieldhouse.
The meet was canceled after the incident.
A spokeswoman for the El Paso County coroner's office said on Monday that it had not performed an autopsy and could not yet release the name of the person who was killed.
The Colorado United Track Club said in an email reported by 11 News and other local news media that the victim was the father of one of its team members.
In the more familiar hammer throw, contested outdoors at events like the Olympics, competitors spin around in a circle to build momentum and then release a heavy ball on a chain, which is known as a hammer.
For safety, the spinning takes place in a cage with an open segment for the hammer to go through when it is released.
At indoor meets like the one in Colorado Springs, the event is normally renamed the weight throw.
The implement is attached to a grip, rather than a chain, and is heavier than the hammer so that it does not travel as far. As in the hammer competition, the thrower is within a cage or netting.
At the Olympic Games, men can throw the hammer well over 200 feet. High school boys typically throw a 25-pound weight indoors, but they can still throw it quite a distance: The record for that age group is currently more than 90 feet.
Hammer and other throwing events can be dangerous, and cases of injury to competitors, officials and spectators are not rare.
As recently as September, a teenager was critically injured by a hammer at a meet in Australia.
Javelins can be thrown even farther than hammers, and their sharp tips also contribute to the danger. Even at the sport's highest levels, disaster can occur.
In 2008, at the Golden League in Rome, the top level of the professional sport, a javelin thrown by an elite athlete struck a long jumper, Salim Sdiri of France, causing severe internal injuries.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bijan Robinson Makes Announcement on 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Bijan Robinson Makes Announcement on 2028 Los Angeles Olympics originally appeared on Athlon Sports. For the first time in the historic sporting event's history, flag football will be a part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Advertisement In addition to flag football joining sports such as baseball/softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash as the new sports being added, the other exciting news around the flag football aspect is that NFL players were given the stamp of approval to play by the owners in a 32-0 vote back in May. While many fans have begun speculating who will or won't play, some notable stars have seemingly made decisions already. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champion, Patrick Mahomes, seemed to have passed on the opportunity. Meanwhile, four-time All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson made it clear he hopes to rep the Stars and Stripes. On Monday, former Texas Longhorns star and current Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson revealed that he would be interested in playing. "I think it's awesome," Robinson told the media. "All it does is grow the game a lot. I think for me like, I grew up playing flag football and that was my offseason game was flag and 7-on-7. So, you know I feel like it's always an honor to play for your country, like you always wanna play for your country. And I would love to show my skill set on that type of stage." Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson staring at the Hartline-Imagn Images While Robinson admitted he would like to play, he did acknowledge that there are athletes out there who specialize in the sport. He also said that scheduling will play a major role in whether he and other NFL stars can play, along with the NFL teams actually allowing players to play in them. Advertisement Regardless, he doubled down on wanting to play. "I would love to play in that game if given the opportunity," Robinson said. "But obviously, we'll see. I don't want it to affect my team and what we got going on here." This past season, Robinson rushed for 1,456 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also adding 61 catches for 431 yards and a score. Assuming the 23-year-old is healthy when the Olympics roll around, it's hard to imagine there is a more shifty and elusive option than him. Related: Oklahoma Catching Heat For Being 'Obsessed' With Texas This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
T.J. Oshie, US Olympic star in Sochi and Washington Capitals Stanley Cup champion, announces retirement
WASHINGTON — T.J. Oshie, who scored four shootout goals for the U.S. to beat host Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and helped the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018, announced Monday he is retiring after playing 16 NHL seasons. Oshie shared his news in front of hundreds of fans gathered at the fountains at Washington Harbour in Georgetown, seven years to the day of one of the most memorable Cup celebrations in hockey history when he and several teammates jumped into the fountains and took a dip. President of hockey operations Brian MacLellan, general manager Chris Patrick, coach Spencer Carbery and longtime teammates Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson came out to support Oshie as he called it a career. 'My only contribution was that this could be a good day and place to have (the ceremony),' Oshie said, adding, 'I can't thank the Caps enough. Another first-class move by them to have my retirement here, invite all the people out. It really made this day special.' The announcement had been expected for quite some time, with Oshie's contract expiring. The 38-year-old did not play this past season because of a nagging back injury that sidelined him off and on, going on long-term injured reserve instead. Oshie said in the spring of 2024 he would only return to the Capitals if he found a permanent solution or fix to the issue. His final game was at home on April 28 last year against the New York Rangers, a 4-2 loss in the first round that eliminated Washington in a sweep. 'I was fully prepared that could be my last game: I got the pictures taken of me taking off the skates to prove it,' Oshie said. 'I hadn't thought too much about (the end), honestly, besides that moment. Even before that moment, knowing how tough it was on really the whole team with me, what I was going through, actually saying the words out loud at the podium with my family in front of me and the Caps organization, my teammates, all my close friends, it was emotional.' Taken 24th in the 2005 draft by St. Louis, Oshie played 1,116 regular-season and playoff games in the league with the Blues and Capitals since making his debut in 2008. He had 336 goals and 428 assists for 764 points, including 21 points during Washington's Cup run. Oshie made an international name for himself at the Olympics, earning the nickname 'T.J. Sochi' for going 4 for 6 in shootout attempts against Sergei Bobrovsky during the U.S.-Russia preliminary round game in that tournament. 'I like to think that when I was playing, that I was playing for my teammates, for my coaches, for my family, for my fans. I rarely thought about my own accolades,' Oshie said. 'To be remembered (as a 'warrior' type of player) is a huge honor because that was my goal and the way I played the game.' In the NHL, his biggest impact came after he was traded from the Blues to the Capitals in 2015. Oshie took on an immediate leadership role as a key addition to the core of Alex Ovechkin, Backstrom and Carlson, helping the team make the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons in the nation's capital. 'I'll be the first to give credit to my teammates, because without them, I was nowhere near good enough to do it without a group like that,' Oshie said. Oshie's 76 power-play goals in D.C. are the fifth most in franchise history. He scored 49 times in the shootout, tied for third all-time since it was implemented in 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
T.J. Oshie, US Olympic star in Sochi and Capitals Stanley Cup champion, announces he's retiring
WASHINGTON (AP) — T.J. Oshie, who scored four shootout goals for the U.S. to beat host Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and helped the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018, announced Monday he is retiring after playing 16 NHL seasons. Oshie shared his news in front of hundreds of fans gathered at the fountains at Washington Harbour in Georgetown, seven years to the day of one of the most memorable Cup celebrations in hockey history when he and several teammates jumped into the fountains and took a dip. The announcement had been expected for quite some time, with Oshie's contract expiring. The 38-year-old did not play this past season because of a nagging back injury that sidelined him off and on, going on long-term injured reserve instead. 'I would like to thank the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love, all of my teammates who battled with me every night, my coaches who challenged me to be better every day and the athletic trainers and equipment staff who got me ready to play,' Oshie said in a news release sent out by the NHLPA. Oshie said in the spring of 2024 he would only return to the Capitals if he found a permanent solution or fix to the issue. His final game was at home on April 28 last year against the New York Rangers, a 4-2 loss in the first round that eliminated Washington in a sweep. Taken 24th in the 2005 draft by St. Louis, Oshie played 1,116 regular-season and playoff games in the league with the Blues and Capitals since making his debut in 2008. He had 336 goals and 428 assists for 764 points, including 29 goals during Washington's Cup run. Oshie made an international name for himself at the Olympics, earning the nickname 'T.J. Sochi' for going 4 for 6 in shootout attempts against Sergei Bobrovsky during the U.S.-Russia preliminary round game in that tournament. In the NHL, his biggest impact came after he was traded from the Blues to the Capitals in 2015. Oshie took on an immediate leadership role as a key addition to the core of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson, helping the team make the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons in the nation's capitals. ___
