Fans Angered as High School Track & Field Athlete Gets Injured During Recent Meet

“She definitely struck my daughter more than once.” A grieving mother said those words in front of WSET ABC 13’s camera and microphone on March 6. Her voice shivered while narrating the incident. In the last three days, Tamarrow Tucker had to see and experience unthinkable things. On Monday this week, she witnessed her daughter winning the 55-meter dash at Liberty University, setting a meet record. On Tuesday, the talented daughter had the bigger track and field test. She got the task of making her Brookville team win the 4x200m relay finals. But things had changed. 

Last Tuesday came down as a curse on Tuckers. Tamarrow is now concerned about her daughter’s fitness. In just 24 hours, the track and field prospect has lost a significant portion of her confidence because of a concussion. She has no idea what the actual damage to her body and mind has been, and she is unable to connect the dots. Sounds erratic, right? However, the track and field fans have spotted the problem.

The shocking incident shakes every belief 

On March 5, the X-handle of World Athletics Hub shared a clip. The 9-second clip had some Class 3 athletes running on the indoor track at Liberty University. The race displayed Kaelen Tucker, Tamarrow’s teenage daughter, facing vicious hits on her head from the athlete from I.C. Norcom High School while passing the latter on the inside.

As a result, the teenage athlete lost her balance, stumbled off the track, and fell to the ground. The baton from her hand fell to the other side of the track, making the scene horrific. Later, Travis Miller, the NBC Sports Director of Social Media, re-shared the clip on X, captioning, “Took a baton to the head [awestricken face emoji].”

Last Tuesday, the indoor track at Liberty University witnessed such unbelievable things. But didn’t the authorities do anything? 

Yes, they did. The judges called the Norcom team’s athletes’ behavior foul and disqualified the entire Norcom team. The charge of “contact interference” had been imposed on the athlete. She will now remain outside of the competition for a long time. That was expected after what happened on Tuesday.

However, Kaelen has to bear the brunt as well. According to the paramedics, she’s getting treatment for a swelling and could have a potential skull fracture. She will have to undergo a few more tests when the swelling heals. Only during those hours could the true nature of the devastation be determined.

Remember, Kaelen has already suffered a brain fracture because of the hit by the baton. Concerning, no? The track and fans have failed to look at the other side. On X, they have shown their protests on the matter. 

Track and field fans mention how they “ain’t never seen something like this before!”

“I really would like to know the outcome of this because …..I ain’t never seen something like this before, good God.” Someone put that comment while reposting Travis Miller’s post on the incident. The outcome of the incident is Kaelen Tucker’s concussion, swollen brain nerves, and withdrawal from the rest of the season. These are visible impacts, though. The invisible is the trauma the athlete is feeling. Would she ever forget the incident? Questions loom around. Meanwhile, another fan put the obvious remark in the comment box. 

The comment read, “Wow, I didn’t know track was such a contact sport!” It is not, actually. In fact, that was the offense of the athlete belonging to Norcom. She made contact with her baton. So, she had to face the penalty. But things may not be explained by pointing the “contact interference” part. A few fans pointed to that fact as well. 

In the comment box, one such follower wrote, “Hitting someone with a baton is nasty work. A relay baton weighs next to nothing. Other than the shock and disappointment of it happening, I couldn’t imagine a flopping reaction like.” Usually, a baton comes with a weight of 227 grams. Now, if you calculate the momentum, the hit from a baton can be fatal. That’s what happened on Tuesday. Kaelen had to face an unthinkable blow to her head, and the harm followed up.

Did the athlete have no idea about the possible damage beforehand? Did the rage at the moment stand everything? The track and field sports fans questioned the maturity. 

On this aspect, someone wrote, “What’s wrong with the youth?” Nobody has the answer. The utter disbelief, meanwhile, made a fan pen, “What in the fu***** hell.” The question of sportsmanship comes into play for today’s youth. It’s an on going discussion about the mental capacity of young athletes and their welfare.

The fans have yet to believe it. Those who were at the scene have yet to make amends with it. Seriously, the entire incident is unbelievable.