BRITISH heptathlete Abigail Pawlett broke down in tears in Tokyo after banging the back of her head on the athletics track.
Pawlett, 22, was competing in the heats of the 100 metres hurdles in the first event on day one of the women’s heptathlon.
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Yet after clipping the tenth and final hurdle, the Welshwoman lost her balance and fell over at speed inside the National Stadium in the Japanese capital.
As she tumbled at speed in lane four, she dramatically hit her head on the ground and then rolled over the finish line.
Pawlett – who has set a personal best this year of 12.94 seconds over the distance – was given an official time of 14.70 seconds, the slowest mark of all the 23 competitors.
TV cameras saw her walking away from the track in tears and being consoled by her coach and fellow Brits Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Jade O’Dowda.
The BBC claim she was offered medical attention but it was her decision to continue competing in the seven-discipline event.
It is not known if any concussion test or protocols were applied by medics in the arena.
There were no apparent issues when she lined up next for the high jump – and then recorded a personal best jump of 1.80 metres.
Jenny Meadows, former 800 metres runner, now the coach to Keely Hodgkinson, said: “It was tough to watch. She’s a really accomplished hurdler.
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“She went over in the British Championships in the hurdles and she was running great, wasn’t she? It was just that last hurdle.
“It’s images that we don’t like to see. Such a shame.
“I think she did really well to get over that line and still record, not what she wants, but a score that still allows her to go on in this event.
“It’s so important that first event, to start off well and run a clean race. These are really hard images.”
Jessica Ennis-Hill, the London 2012 Olympic champion, agreed that it made for comfortable viewing on their TV screens.
She said: “Abigail would have had such high expectations.
“You can see the girls there just consoling her and helping her.
“It’s a decision – does she carry on? She has banged her head really hard as well. I am hoping she had that looked at as well.”
