The World Athletics Championships began on August 19 and is already seven days into the competition. Several top athletes have assembled in Budapest to compete for prestigious titles and earn medals for their country. The organizers had months to prepare for the event, but inspite of their efforts, a major accident took place yesterday. Unfortunately, during a recent cart crash, Jamaican track and field legend Andrew Hudson suffered injuries to his eyes. In the buggy with him were other well-known athletes, including one American champion.

A buggy was transporting all the 200-meter sprinters to the field for the semifinal race on Thursday. However, the buggy crashed into another one, causing shards of glass to fly into Hudson’s eyes. None of the other runners, including American ace Noah Lyles, were hurt. But, the incident severely impacted their race.

Collision impacts the semifinal race of the World Athletics Championship

The collision was captured in an aerial shot outside the stadium in Budapest. The video shows the athlete?s cart running at a slow speed on the sidewalk. Just then, another buggy came barreling down the road from the left and collided into it. The crash threw one of the volunteers out of the athletes? cart. In the next frame of the video, Andrew Hudson was seen pressing his right eye with his fingers. BBC Sports broke the news on an X post stating, ?Jamaican sprinter Andrew Hudson was left with shards of glass in his eye after a collision between two golf buggies?. The volunteers took him to the medical facility, where doctors flushed the glass from his eyes. In the meantime, the other sprinters stayed back, thanking their luck, with Noah Lyles writing on his Instagram, “Thank you God for watching over me”.

It was Andrew Hudson?s debut at the World Athletics Championship. He resolved not to let this injury define his career. The race began half an hour late, and the 26-year-old athlete managed to push through the pain to compete. He ended the semifinals in the fifth position, but the officials of the World Athletics Championships decided to give him a spot on Friday?s final race on a discretionary basis. After the race, Hudson explained, ?I can?t see out of my right eye, but I?m OK?. The accident also left Noah Lyles and the other athletes shaken before their race. The fright overshadowed much of the excitement leading up to the semifinal race.

Shocked athletes push through fright

In July, Noah Lyles broke the Jamaican track and field paragon Usain Bolt?s record of the most 200-metre races winning under 20 seconds. He did not want to dip below his usual performance in the World Athletics Championships due to the accident. Therefore, Lyles put all his attention into the race and finished it in 19.76 seconds. It was the fastest time on the sixth day of the Championships. After the race, he posted an Instagram update saying, ?Survived a crash and still got the fastest time going into the final?.

Read More: Usain Bolt?s 200m Track Record Under Threat as US Star Noah Lyles Closes In

Before he headed off to Budapest, Noah Lyles had proclaimed that he would post 19.10 in the 200-metre and break Usain Bolt record of 19.19. But the crash before the race had shaken his confidence and impacted his performance. Tonight, he has another chance to achieve his lofty goal. He is already expected to win the title, but it remains to be seen if he can surpass the Jamaican legend.

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