Sprinting is not normally regarded as a dangerous sport but Ireland's Paul Brizzel narrowly averted serious injury during his 200 metres heat at the European Athletics Championships yesterday.
"I'm lucky not to be in the intensive care unit with stitches in my head," said the Antrim athlete.
In the opening few strides of his race, a time when all sprinters explode furiously from their starting blocks, Brizzel was suddenly forced to duck under a boom camera that is suspended alongside the track by a small crane.
Designed to get close-up shots of the sprinters on their blocks, the camera on this occasion failed to be raised in time and Brizzel, who was running in the outside lane, just avoided a head-on clash. Yet the incident clearly wrecked his ambitions of progressing into the later rounds of the event as he chased the other athletes in vain, ending up sixth and last when clocking 21.32 seconds - a long way outside his personal best of 20.54. "I was coming out of my drive phase, and I looked up and the camera was right there in front of me," he added. "I had no option but to go underneath, and side step it. Otherwise I'd be knocked out there on the track. The Irish team manager in Munich, Mr Patsy McGonagle, lodged an appeal immediately to the European Athletic Association, arguing that Brizzel had obviously been impeded and should be given a place in the second round.
In an unprecedented ruling it was decided that Brizzel would be given a second chance - but that he return to track alone and attempt to better the 24th and slowest qualifying time of 21.04 seconds, run by Italy's Emanuele Di Gregorio in the last of the five heats.
It was just 90 minutes after his nightmare experience that Brizzel was back on the track and running alone in front of a half-empty stadium. Despite a courageous effort of 21.19 seconds he fell a little short, and was thus packing his bags to return home.
"I do think a bye into the second round should have been the proper way, but when I got the second chance to run I just had to go with that. I mean it's their competition and they can run the rules whatever way they want but I don't think it's very professional.
"Obviously with the way the cameras are working, but with some of the officials too."
