Paris 2024 organisers release statement after runner ‘lost consciousness’ following serious fall in race

Paris 2024 organisers have shared a statement after an Olympian suffered a serious fall in the 3,000m steeplechase final.

Ethiopian runner Lamecha Girma, 23, tripped over a barrier with his trailing right knee while competing in the Paris Olympic Games on Wednesday night (7 August).

As Girma lay on the ground, the other athletes carried on and completed the race before he received medical treatment.

The 23-year-old appeared to ‘lose consciousness’ as he was put in a neck brace and was taken off on a stretcher.

Peacock sports commentator Leigh Diffey said: "In 40 years of commentating running and the steeplechase, I have never seen a fall that heavy."

The athlete was subsequently sent to hospital for further tests.

Thankfully Girma's team said he was conscious and able to talk, according to French newspaper L'Équipe.

Coach Teshome Kebede said: "Lamecha Girma is in good condition."

The Paris 2024 organisers have since sent their 'very best wishes' to the athlete.

“Following his fall in the 3,000m steeplechase, Lamecha Girma received immediate care from the on-site medical teams,” they said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with him and we are sending him our very best wishes for a swift recovery.

“Paris 2024 is in close contact with the Ethiopian NOC to stay updated on his condition.”

In a 2023 interview with Citius Mag, Girma said that he grew up with 'seven brothers and two sisters' in Bekoji.

"Of us brothers, three of us run and one of my brothers - the oldest - is now our coach. The second is also a runner, and I am the third child. My parents are farmers from the countryside," he said.

Of breaking the world indoor record for the 3,000 metres, Girma added: "I started thinking about breaking the record around 2021.

"I knew, with the timing of the big races, that 2023 could be a good year to try for it.

Lamecha Girma 😬#Athletics #Paris2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/kjguxdJe2z

— 😬 (@sisu_esse) August 7, 2024

"My brothers also told me they knew I could break the record and internally I knew I could, also.

"Before breaking the record, I could only think about breaking the record! I was telling the journalists there that I would break the record so I had to be thinking about breaking the record all day.

"In a way, that added some pressure. But because I said it aloud I knew I must do it. Then, when I broke it I was of course happy but also relieved.

"Because I had been talking about it so much it was like a weight had been lifted."

Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali ended up taking home the gold medal while Team USA's Kenneth Rooks took silver and Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot bagged the bronze.