A high school runner was attacked and struck with a baton by a fellow competitor when she tried to take the lead during a 4x200m relay race at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, at the VSHL Class 3 State Indoor Championships on March 7.
A video of the moment of the attack showed Kaelen Tucker coming from behind to overtake the yet-to-be-named fellow runner. However, when Kaelen overtook her and was entering in front of her lane, the suspected attacker from IC Norcom High School raised her relay baton and struck her on the back of her head.
Kaelen held her head and fell on the floor. The medical team on ground rushed to her aid and she was reported to have suffered a concussion. A swelling on her head also suggested a likely fracture on her skull.
Watch the video below:
Kaelen’s mother, Tamarrow, who came to watch the racing event with some members of her family, said she was struck more than once. She berated the lack of empathy from the fellow competitor as well as her coach when she said they have not heard from them since the accident/attack.
Tamarrow also did not state if her family would press charges against the fellow contestant.
Tucker who had earlier won a silver in a 55m race that day would not participate further due to her injuries and the other girl was immediately disqualified by the sports officals for “contact interference”.
In a statement, the Virginia High School League (VHSL) said it has no comment on the outcome of the investigation but supported the immediate disqualification of the runner due to safety breach.
The injured runner could not help asking the fellow competitor why she attacked her and refused to apologise for so long.
General comments from viewers on social media also support that the runner purposely struck Kaelen on the head with the relay baton due to frustration, either because she was losing to her, or because their arms bumped as Kaelen narrated.
The girl later appeared on WayNews10 on Saturday where she tearfully said that she did not hit Kaelen on purpose.
“I’m just a person by myself. Nobody is going to believe me because I can admit that from the video it does look purposeful, but I know my intentions and I would never hit somebody on purpose“, she said.
Her claim was supported by her mother, Genoa Everett, who blamed the angle in which the video was shown as making it seem as if her daughter attacked her opponent willfully.
