When running next to pole vaulters, make sure to be very, very aware.
During the men’s heptathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, Portland, a Brazilian runner named Jose Fernando Ferreira was struck by a pole dislodged by a nearby pole vaulter.
As Ferreira was running by, Czechia pole vaulter David Holy was beginning his run. However, Holy failed to clear the bar and knocked the crossbar from its supports, causing it to fall on the track at precisely the moment that the unsuspecting Ferreira was running by.
Despite having his chances of winning dashed by the falling pole, Ferreira got up and finished the race, though he came in last.
Holy’s efforts were similarly ruined; he ended up finishing last in the pole vault.
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