Two Americans hurt in Spain’s annual bull run

The annual running of the bulls in Pamplona left five people hospitalized on its first day, Spanish authorities said Sunday.

Among them were two Americans who were gored during the event’s opening run. One man, a 46-year-old from San Francisco, needed surgery after being gored in the neck, officials said. The other American, a 23-yearold from Florence, Ky., was gored in the thigh.

A Spanish man, 40, was also gored in the thigh, while two other Spaniards suffered head injuries during the event.

None of the men were identified by officials.

Forty-eight people were also treated for minor injuries during the opening run, the local Red Cross chapter said, including two people who were trampled by the animals.

The bull run is part of the nine-day Fiesta de San Fermín made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises.” The annual event in the northern Spanish city draws about 1 million tourists every year — with hundreds taking part in the dangerous tradition of running alongside a half-dozen or so angry and frightened bulls let loose in the narrow city streets each morning.

The animals, which are led to a bullring about 1,000 yards away, take part in bullfights later in the day, during which they are killed by matadors.

There are dozens of reported injuries every year, usually from “runners” falling or being trampled by bulls and humans alike. At least 15 people have been killed since the 1920s, mostly from gorings.

Bullfighting in Spain is a cultural tradition that goes back to at least the 14th century, but events involving the bulls at the festival in Pamplona as well as other Spanish cities have been the target of protests by animal activists. Protesters mimicked dead bulls on the streets of Pamplona a day before this year’s festival began.

With News Wire Services