WATCH: 800m runner struck by pole at NCAA indoor meet

The 800 metres is known to be one of the toughest events on the track. It’s one of the few events where you push your body to the max, giving everything you’ve got in the final 100 metres. As if dealing with lactic wasn’t hard enough, a collegiate 800m runner competing at the Robert Platt Invitational in Houston on Saturday was on his way to a personal best when he was tripped up by a pole vault pole in the final 50 metres. 

You need to see this to believe it. The University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) athlete, who was leading the race, almost had victory wrapped up, until he was suddenly struck by a pole vaulter whose pole missed the pit, knocking him down and wrecking his race.

The pole wiped out the lead runner and nearly snagged the second runner, who was from the University of Texas-Arlington. However, the second runner skillfully danced out of harm’s way, moving to the inside of the track to avoid both the pole and the falling athlete in front of him. Despite being knocked down, the UTSA-athlete was able to get up and finish the race in 1:58.92.

As an 800m runner, this is the last thing you’d expect to happen at the end of a race, but it isn’t the first time something like this has occurred. At the 2017 Irish University Indoor Championships, an 800m runner got tangled up in the pole-vault’s warmup bungee cord in the final 50 metres.

In both cases, these incidents occur once in a blue moon. However, they typically happen when the pole vault area is situated too close to the track, leading to individuals being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is less of a concern at outdoor track events, where the pole vault has more space to operate within the field of a 400m track.