Two golf carts transporting athletes at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, collided with one another, leaving shards of glass in Jamaican sprinter Andrew Hudson's right eye. Following the crash, Hudson was treated for nearly 20 minutes before he could compete in the delayed semi-finals where he finished fifth in 20.38 seconds.
A visibly distressed Hudson ran despite the blurry vision, failing to qualify for Friday’s final. However, authorities later allowed the sprinter to compete in the final after the Jamaican team's successful appeal.
After the race, Hudson said that doctors were able to flush some of the glass but he could barely see from his right eye. “I went back to medical, the doctor said I had some shards of glass in my eye,” Hudson said.
“He tried to flush out as best as possible. World Athletics asked me if I was going to run or not. It was kind of like running or losing my spot. I worked so hard to be here, so I thought I would at least try. And I tried.”
{{/usCountry}}“He tried to flush out as best as possible. World Athletics asked me if I was going to run or not. It was kind of like running or losing my spot. I worked so hard to be here, so I thought I would at least try. And I tried.”
{{/usCountry}}American sprinter Noah Lyles and others accompanied Hudson on the cart moving the athletes from warm-ups to a waiting room near the track before their three-round semi-finals. Another cart coming from the left hit the one carrying athletes. One of the volunteers on the cart was also assessed for injury and he's doing fine, the authorities have said. The shocking incident caused Lyles' heat to be delayed by 30 minutes.
“The Local Organising Committee is investigating the incident and reviewing the transport procedures,” read the statement from the Budapest organising committee.
Meanwhile, US sprinter Noah Lyles, who won the 100m final on Sunday, was the fastest again, finishing the race in 19.75 seconds. Zharnel Hughes from Britain and Erriyon Knighton from the US finished second and third respectively.
"Survived a crash and made the finals," Lyles posted on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) after the semi-final race. Lyles is currently aiming to become the first man to win the sprint double since Usain Bolt in 2015.
Olympic champion Andre De Grasse, who had to suffer a foot injury, emerged as one of the two fastest losers, clocking a time of 20.10. "That was tough. I'm missing that 100 speed, of course, and they got away from me on the turn, which doesn't usually happen. But I live to fight another day, I guess,” De Grasse was quoted as saying by Reuters.