Jamaican sprinter Andrew Hudson competed in the 2023 World Athletics Championships with blurred vision on Thursday after being involved in a cart crash outside of the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.
A cart transporting sprinters competing in the men's 200m semifinals, including Hudson and American Olympic medalist Noah Lyles, was struck by another cart on its way to the stadium.
The collision was caught on video, with an aerial view showing the athletes' cart being hit by a different cart coming from the left. The impact even caused a volunteer to fall out of the other cart. (World Athletics later said the volunteer was "fine.")
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After the crash, a different camera angle showed Hudson wincing and tending to his right eye. A microphone then captured Lyles saying of Hudson: "He thinks he got glass in his eye."
Hudson's hunch was correct, as the crash did leave the 26-year-old with shards of glass in his eye. Doctors were able to wash some of the glass out of his eye, but Hudson said he still couldn't see out of it.
“It was scary,” Hudson said. “It's my eyesight. That's more important. I'm not going to run track forever, but it just happens.”
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Despite the blurred vision, Hudson, who's making his worlds debut, decided to remain in the race after being medically cleared.
Lyles, the event's reigning champion, went on to win the semifinal heat in 19.76 seconds, with Hudson finishing with a fifth-place time of 20.38.
Hudson's time wasn't fast enough to qualify for one of the eight spots in Friday's final. However, track officials advanced him to the final given the circumstances.
“I did the best I could do,” Hudson said. “I was sitting in the middle of the room for like 20 minutes, trying to have a decision if I was going to compete or not. I worked hard to be here. And even under circumstances, everybody has hurdles in life. If I can run I’m going to try my best. So I tried."
“I don’t know what happened. It’s a blur, literally," he added. "The race was a blur. My eyesight is a blur. I’m going to go make sure my eyesight is OK.”
In the wake of the crash, a spokesman from Budapest's local organizing committee told The Associated Press it is “investigating the incident and reviewing the transport procedures.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report