A Georgia high school student is fighting for his life after being struck by a discus at a high school track meet in Cartersville, Ga., last weekend.
Xander Garanzuay of Woodstock High School was hit in the back of the head with the disc, knocking him unconscious. Reports say he was immediately airlifted to Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center for emergency surgery.
On Tuesday, the school’s track and field team provided an update on Garanzuay’s condition: “Practice wasn’t quite the same yesterday without our teammate. He is recovering; however, it will likely be a long road,” the team wrote on Facebook.
According to local news, Garanzuay, 14, had just finished running the Grade 9 (Boys) two-mile race and was heading to his high school team tent when the incident occurred. Garanzuay’s friends and family have created a GoFundMe page to help cover the family’s medical expenses.
Although track and field incidents like this are rare, they do happen. In January, at an indoor high school meet in Colorado, a spectator was killed when a weight was thrown out of bounds. The weight of a discus in high school track and field events is around 3.5 lb. (1.6 kg), and can cause serious damage when travelling at almost 20 metres per second.
The GoFundMe link for Garanzuay and his family can be found here.
