World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024: A Heartbreaking Tale of Injuries, Falls and Withdrawals

The athletes have pitched up, vying for the most coveted podiums at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships. The Paris Olympics 2024 is knocking at the doors and the track and field stars are looking to secure a spot through the qualifying events. As one of the main precursor events of this year, the ongoing Indoors has garnered global love. But what fans usually overlook is the path to glory and how every second counts.

This event, unlike many, is writing several tales of setbacks, besides celebratory wins. As of now, there have been cases of falls and withdrawals, and the list is unwilling to stop. Let’s take a look at some that disheartened us big time.

World Indoor Championships 2024 entails upsets

According to Athletics Weekly’s X post, the Irish middle-distance runner faced a fall just 20m shy of the finish line, when she was already wrapping her 1500m run. Her stride faltered as she fell on her face, ruling herself out of the title contention. The post quoted Healy, saying, “On paper I definitely should’ve made the final but it didn’t work out the way I hoped.” Another X post of Virgin Media Sport caught her saying, “I wouldn’t say I ran very smart. I was too impatient. It’s quite embarrassing really.” According to her words, we can assume that haste has cost her a major milestone.

Another upset was in the men’s 1500m heat, for which the X post of Owen M reads, “Heartbreak for Callum Elson who pulled up. Adam Fogg has a chance of redemption on Sunday after falling in his heat and being advanced through”. Fogg tripped and advanced but a major fiasco for Elson, who stopped on the track because of his calf. Fogg’s advancement brewed queries as he “finishes 6th but then hears mid-interview that he’s been reinstated to the final”.

More mishaps while nearing the end of Day 1

One of the biggest blows came to a young gun Maria Vicente’s life when she attempted to clinch the high jump title. Cathal Dennehy’s X post reads, “Awful to see one of the brightest young stars of the multi-events, Maria Vicente, come through in a wheelchair. She says it’s a complete rupture of her Achilles tendon”. 

Looking at these falls today makes us wonder what the Paris Olympics will have in store for the athletes. Shedding light on the unpleasant side of sports, Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala said that the pressure build-up even made him ‘puke’ for the first time. Though the Championships always come with its pitfalls, the athletes never fail to craft storied careers.

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Concluding Day 2 on a mixed note

Reaching the World Indoors 400m final came as a blow to Sharlene Mawdsley, who finished third in the semi-final but was ruled out after a close analysis. She pushed Austrian athlete Susanne Gogl-Walli. After Sarah Healy’s fall plagued Ireland’s position, the Mawdsley incident was a salt sprinkle on the cut. The X post of Cathal Dennehy reads, “After Sharlene Mawdsley’s DQ, watched some other world indoor races to see examples of obstruction. It took a whole two races to find this – the 2016 men’s 800m final”. The same happened in 2016, but the reported man didn’t face a DQ, thus bringing the ‘inconsistency’ of sports to the fore.

Another setback that Day 2 saw was of Margot Chevrier, whose unforeseen fall resulted in a broken ankle. Annabelle Rolnin’s post reads, “Margot Chevrier evacuated on a stretcher with a large splint on her left leg”. The visuals are nothing less than scary, while the coach confirmed that Chevrier’s “bone was sticking out”. US hurdles icon Aleia Hobbs was on top of her game at the 60m hurdle semi-finals. But the X post “Aleia Hobbs being taken off the track and will not race in the 60m final”, left us heartbroken.

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Wrapping up World Indoor Championships

Thankfully, the last day of the Indoors event in Glasgow didn’t encompass much setbacks or upsets. Having taken lessons from the past two days, the track stars were more mindful of keeping their excited selves grounded. But one small thing that didn’t skip the netizens’ eyes was a hitch in the men’s 4x100m relay. The X post of Jeremy Lyons reads, “This is shocking carry on from this changeover official, hands off the athlete. Not good”. The clip shows the changeover official adjusting the positions of two sprinters to keep them in their respective lanes.

Though this incident looks nothing unnatural, barging in during the race could have called for a restart. As the three-day extravaganza comes to an end, we resume our wait for the Paris Olympics 2024.