Javelin Dangers for Athletes and Officials

(ATR) A University of Georgia sprinter impaled on a javelin is expected to make a full recovery.

Elija Godwin sustained a puncture wound "5 to 6 inches deep" in the middle of his back and just below his shoulder blade on Tuesday.

Godwin backed into the javelin during a training drill in Athens, Georgia.

The police report said Godwin had a collapsed left lung and underwent surgery at a hospital to remove the part of the javelin that was not ground off by fire and rescue services at the track.

Police said the javelin had been left on the ground at an unusual angle during practice. After Godwin ran backward into the rear end of the javelin, there was a "large amount of blood

in the grass" and the freshman was "spitting blood from his mouth."

"It was truly an accident," Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity told Dawg Nation. "Nobody threw anything or anything like that."

UGA men’s track coach Petros Kyprianou added that Godwin "will be having a quick recovery."

Godwin was third in the 400 meters at the 2018 U.S. junior outdoor championships and won a silver medal with the Team USA 4 x 100-meter relay at the 2018 under-20 world championships.

Godwin will miss the rest of the track season.

Kyprianou said some javelins were stacked at the edge of the track and ready to be packed. "The wind kicked one down I guess and it went to like a 45-degree angle and I guess Elija didn’t see it," he said.

Three years ago, an Oregon high school senior tripped and fell into a javelin he was retrieving during practice. The javelin was positioned with the sharp end up and Parker Kennedy punctured his right eye socket. Luckily, the angle of entry led the tip downward instead of into his brain. Soon after the accident, the hospital reported that vision in his right eye was slightly blurry.

In 2012, Dieter Strack, a 74-year-old official, was killed by a flying javelin during a meet in Dusseldorf, Germany. Strack had stepped into the field while the javelin thrown by a 15-year-old

competitor was still in the air. It struck Strack in the cheek and ruptured his carotid artery.

Sky News reported that at least seven spectators were treated for shock following the accident and the Associated Press said the competitor was receiving psychological counseling.

Jochen Grundman, one of the meet organizers, told ABC News, "Although there is a rule not to go to the sector before the throw lands, most experienced judges rush to it while the throw is still in the air. They even do that at the Olympic Games."

Reported by Karen Rosen.