The image went around the world… On Sunday July 31, during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, British track cyclist Matt Walls, 24, literally flew out of the ring to finish his race in the public. The Olympic omnium champion at the last Tokyo Olympics had to be treated for nearly three quarters of an hour on site before being taken to hospital.
“I somehow got out of it without serious injuries, just a few stitches and quite stoned,” the unfortunate acrobat wrote in the evening on social networks. The Daily Mail published a photo of the runner with a few stitches on his forehead and burns on his arms before he was discharged from hospital.
The English daily also questioned the parents of Walls, who watched their son’s race on television and got a real scare. “I watched the Games live on television and Lorraine (Editor’s note: Walls’ mother) ran from the hotel to the velodrome after hearing about the accident, says father Larry. It was an awful moment but after 45 minutes we heard Matt was conscious and Lorraine arrived at the velodrome and we were all able to relax. Lorraine’s girlfriend, Fleur, visited him in the hospital and he was in good shape and was sent back to the hotel in the evening. »
Five people (competitors Matt Walls, Matt Bostock and Derek Gee and two spectators) were injured in this spectacular fall which could have had more serious consequences.