Scotland’s Callum Hawkins has been discharged from hospital after collapsing just over a mile from the end of the Commonwealth Games men’s marathon while leading.
Hawkins, 25, spent Sunday being treated at Gold Coast University Hospital after he had succumbed to hot conditions.
Scotland have asked Games organisers why he had to wait several minutes for treatment at the roadside.
Hawkins thanked medics and said: “It’s great to be back with my team-mates.”
He was aiming for his first major title, having come fourth in the World Championships last year, and had a lead of around two minutes before he fell.
Compatriot Robbie Simpson took bronze in a race won by Australia’s Mike Shelley in two hours 16 minutes 46 seconds, with Uganda’s Munyo Solomon Mutai second.
Organisers have said they will investigate whether there was an excessive delay in getting help to Hawkins, who had managed to get up and run another couple of hundred metres before collapsing again, hitting his head on a roadside barrier.
“You can’t have medical people on every kilometre of the race,” Gold Coast organising committee chief executive Mark Peters said.
On Sunday Commonwealth Games Scotland chair Paul Bush said he hoped “lessons could be learned” about the incident.
“As you know the international rules are very clear in that an athlete has to declare themselves unfit to race [before they can receive any medical attention],” he said.
“But the second time he fell, he was a little bit exposed and we probably would have liked to see more prompt attention to him.
“So that’s something we’ve raised with the organisers. It’s not a time to be critical. It’s a time to look, in the cold light of day, to see what lessons can be learned for future marathons around the world in these conditions, which were unbelievably tough.”
Source: bbb.com
Facebook Comments