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Javelin Toss Goes Horribly Wrong, Referee Dies After Being Speared

By Aug. 29, 20120
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Man throwing javelin at track and field competition, blurred motion

A track and field official has died after being accidentally impaled by a 15-year old javelin competitor at a sporting event in Germany.

Dieter Strack was going about his duties Sunday night as an official for the annual Wilhelm Unger Games, a youth sporting event in Dusseldorf, Germany. Then, tragedy struck — from above. The 74-year-old referee had stepped on to the playing field to measure the distance of a javelin toss, when an unwitting contestant threw a javelin, striking Strack in the cheek. The 1.5-pound spear then traveled down to his neck and hit a crucial artery as stunned spectators looked on.

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“He ran to the sector while the throw was still in the air,” Jochen Grundman, one of the organizers of the 66th Wilhelm Unger Games, told ABC News. “He probably thought he would calculate the airpath correctly before the javelin touched the ground.”

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But it never did land on the ground. When it struck him, Strack, according to ABC News, “shouted, grabbed the javelin, taking it out of his body, and dropped to the ground as officials, a doctor and athletes rushed to him.” He was sped to the hospital, but on Monday succumbed to his injuries that included a ruptured carotid artery. The competition was halted after the accident, which was witnessed by over 800 people who were in the stands. At least seven were treated for shock, according to Sky News. The 15-year old javelin thrower is getting psychological counseling for his part in the tragic event, the Associated Press reports.

“Although there is a rule not to go to the sector before the throw lands, most experienced judges rush to it while the throw is still in the air,” Grundman told ABC. “They even do that at the Olympic Games.”

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Flor Acosta-Ovalles
Flor Acosta-Ovalles

The Referee made a fatal mistake by pulling the spear off his body. My heart goes to the family and to that traumatized 15y old kid  :(

What a tragedy! 

Claudia Marcus
Claudia Marcus

There is a "rule" in EMS; for all stabbing victims, whatever the instrument that caused the stab wound, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT remove the item. As incredibly carefully as possible transport the person to the hospital. Yes, a javelin is long and will have to be cut prior to transport but there are tools for that. If you are stabbed by a knife, arrow, pencil, any item, do not remove it. Let the professionals stabilize the area, transport you to the hospital, and other professionals do the removal where they are prepared. Remember what happened when Steve Irwin pulled out the spine? Many others have died when well-intentioned individuals removed the item.

Coaster26
Coaster26

That's all well and good for EMTs Claudia. If you read the article, it says the victim himself pulled out the javelin. Likely more as a reaction to getting speared than anything to do with thinking about any training he may or may not have had in his 74 years.

Talendria
Talendria

She's right, though, and you'd be surprised at how well your brain can recall that kind of trivia when necessary.

Ryan Wenzel
Ryan Wenzel

"Unger Games"?  Clearly the kid thought he was in Panem and believed he was supposed to kill someone with the spear.

Matthew Johnson
Matthew Johnson

The final paragraphs is the most telling: '“Although there is a rule not to go to the sector before the throw lands, most experienced judges rush to it while the throw is still in the air,” Grundman told ABC. “They even do that at the Olympic Games.”'

This means the real cause of the tragedy is failing to enforce  the rule with 'experienced' judges thinking they knew what they were doing. Kind of like kids who think they can safely ride bikes recklessly w/o even a helmet -- until their first major accident.