Spectator hit and killed by weight throw at Colorado Springs track meet

The one on Feb 16 has already been cancelled. They are also hosting a masters meet on Feb 9, no word on the status of that meet.

That is awful. We do not have weight throw at the high school level in my state. I've had a shot put fly over my head, though.

Good. The more that comes out, it seems these jokers had no business hosting a meet.

It also seems a bit crass they are running a GoFundMe at the same time the family is.

As someone called out here earlier, this was not the only time during this meet that an implement went awry, why did the throws judge/crew not stop the event and review it with the meet director, and maybe caution the spectators?

Why is there all this talk about "Certified Barriers" in the reporting about this incident. Not to be conspiracy guy, however, this sounds like they are hedging that the family will not sue. As I have asked before: were they insured?

Why no onsite medical personnel? Did they refund any of the participants?

Who else thinks there is more to come out of this?

Sue the Meet Director.

That is the throws cage? It looks less sturdy than a little league batting cage.

that's desperately sad and so avoidable.

At our outdoor track in the UK, the throwing guidelines have the back straight closed off while discus and hammer take place (the cage is close to the 1500m start). It's expected that there will be wild throws and the implement will go out of the sector at some point.

Oh you know that will happen. And rightfully so. More so the facility than the meet director. But lawyers will go after everyone to strengthen the case.

It's not an official event in Colorado, but indoor track is not an official high school sport in Colorado either. USATF does recognize the weight throw as an official event starting in the 15-16 age group. It is also an event at Nike/New Balance Indoor Nationals. Historically I don't think even Colorado USATF hosted youth meets at the Air Force Academy offered the weight throw for any age group, only the shot put. So this was pretty unprecedented for Colorado to have the weight throw at a high school meet.

It's a tough subject, those of us who have been around the sport a long time have seen dozens of near misses from various throwing events. We had a discus thrown over the fence into the parking lot at the Colorado state championships last year, it just missed a couple walking to their car...and the event carried on like nothing happened. Half of our outdoor athletic facilities in the state are probably not up to snuff from a safety standpoint for these events, including the state venue. The one saving grace at many outdoor meets is the throws areas tend to be well away from the track and other events.

This immediately brought to my mind the terrible accident at Wheaton College back in 2017. A student volunteer was killed in the (outdoor) hammer throw at a meet there. Such sad events that seem preventable with the proper barriers. Certainly prayers to all affected by this tragedy.

They should probably stop hammer and discus throws. Too dangerous. Not the first accident that has happened.

Both Air Force and Colorado School of Mines have offered indoor weight throw for high school kids the last several years. The difference is Mines has it contested on a separate date when the rest of the facility is empty and safe and the spectators at Air Force are safe and well away from the track in elevated seating. The set up at UCCS has always been dangerous even for well trained collegiate throwers. More rouge fouls are bound to happen with high school athletes. It was just compounded with large unscreened areas to the left of the sector line and the stands against the minimal screening that did exist. The weight throw event is not the issue. The unsafe facility setup is. Safety was not a priority at this meet.

A couple of years ago I got in a "discussion" with a photographer who was sitting on the ground inside the flags during the javelin throw. He was sitting because his rotundness made it too tiring to stand. Let's just say it was a very "warm" discussion, especially on my part. Not that a string of flags can stop a javelin, but it serves as a warning to stay out.

It's just not the throws. At the Monaco Herculis Diamond League meet this past summer, one of the rich Monaco volunteers with a new Broadcast grade TV Cam on his shoulder got excited jumped out to get Karsten Wharholm hurdling down the finish and almost slammed into him. Karsten had to move quickly to avoid him. Rai Benjamin won. Karsten was 2nd. They should use seasoned Union TV Cameraman that have shot in wars and riots and the Tour de France. They should not use rich newbies who can afford expensive toys, is a friend of the Meet Director, and shoots for FREE once a year, for a hobby.

The meet was not sanctioned by USATF.

Been to a lot of indoor meets with our kids, and I've never remotely felt unsafe at, around, or watching the matter throw. We are regulars at Kent State, Akron, and Youngstown State, and there is no way a hammer is clearing the structure(s) they use. Stands for the throws are also facing the throws, and set a good distance from the actual netting/structure.

I would agree that it is not the event itself that is the problem, but the setup. Even spectator wise, there are folks making sure no one enters the open restricted zone while the throws are happening.

I can't believe this is anything but a complete safety-failure on part of the venue.

If the meet director ( Colorado United) and its coaches are proven to have miss managed this meet in anyway. Should they still be aloud to coach at their schools/clubs or even host meets this upcoming spring for outdoor track and field events? On the Colorado United website it says a USATF Member Club and yet when you go to look it up on the USATF website, it is not listed as such.
When you go to the website. The first thing you see is a support your team donate button at the top. Followed by a join our team and then a register now and then a payment button. After all that it’s a “meet the coaches”. The priorities aren’t describing the “club” or the purpose, instead it looks like pay for it now and find out later.

They do not ever throw the Hammer indoors, that would be the same as trying to throw the Javelin indoors!