Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Scot ‘annoyed’ after Comm Games collapse
Scottish runner Callum Hawkins isn’t angry about the slow response after his collapse during the Commonwealth Games marathon but he is annoyed at himself.
April 26, 2018
Scottish athlete Callum Hawkins has revealed he asked ambulance workers if he had won the Commonwealth Games marathon as he was taken to hospital in a distressed state.
But that’s about the only thing the 25-year-old can remember after collapsing while on cusp of winning the gold medal at the Gold Coast.
“I remember coming around the corner and seeing the bridge, knowing there were about a mile, a mile and a half, to go,” he told BBC.
“Then the next thing you know, my legs are almost switching off on me and going to jelly, I’m starting to stumble.
“I remember falling off at the side of the road and then trying my best to back up and then I don’t remember anything after that.”
Hawkins, who had a two-minute lead over Australian Michael Shelley, said the next thing he recalled was being in the ambulance following his collapse.
“The first thing I asked (was) did I win because I thought there might have been a chance that I went on autopilot and finished it,” he said.
“But nobody answered me and I knew straight away, eh that’s a no.”
Hawkins said he was not angry about the slow response from organisers and spectators to his collapse that resulted in him hitting his head on the barrier.
“If you see that happen it’s the shock of it and you freeze,” he said.
“It more annoys me that I managed to put myself in that place because if I hadn’t I would have won a medal.”