MARATHON NIGHTMARE
Medics rapped as Scotland’s Hawkins collapses in the heat
GOLD COAST 2018 organisers came under severe criticism over their medical practices yesterday after Scotland’s Callum Hawkins collapsed during the marathon and went several minutes without treatment.
Hawkins was taken to hospital amid distressing scenes in which he fell from exhaustion barely a mile from the end of the 26-mile race while leading by almost two minutes.
Television pictures showed him trying and failing repeatedly to get to his feet and at one point he appeared to bang his head on a barrier while writhing on the tarmac. It took a couple of minutes before a medic reached the Scot, who initially refused help for fear of disqualification.
Hawkins, 25, has suffered no obvious problems following the incident, which occurred as temperatures approached 30 degrees.
After a night in hospital, he said in a statement he was feeling ‘much better’. He added: ‘Thanks for all your messages of support today and to the Gold Coast University Hospital staff.’
But the scenario prompted serious questions from Steve Cram and Paula Radcliffe. Women’s marathon world record-holder Radcliffe tweeted: ‘Medics were shockingly slow to get there and then slow to act when they did. The athlete will always want to finish but isn’t able to think rationally at that point.’
BBC commentator Cram said: ‘We should have some more medical attention. This is a guy in real distress and someone needs to recognise it for his health at this point. You cannot just wait at the finish line. I think it’s disgraceful.’
Gold Coast 2018 chief executive Mark Peters said: ‘ We need to check the facts out. You can’t have medical people on every kilometre of the road. They are professionally positioned as they are for our Gold Coast marathon. Obviously the health of the athlete is absolute prime.’
Australia’s Mike Shelley passed the stricken Hawkins to win gold. Hawkins’s fellow Scot Robbie Simpson took bronze, behind Uganda’s Munyo Solomon Mutai.