A Welsh weightlifter collapsed unconscious from lack of oxygen, after a failed attempt to lift a 353-pound barbell during Sunday’s 2018 Commonwealth Games at Carrara Stadium, in Carrara, Australia.
It appears that Joshua Parry, 27, didn’t properly breathe when starting his 160kg lift and the effort of his first jerk along with the bar coming to rest on his neck drove what little breath he still had right out of his lungs causing him to momentarily black out from lack of oxygen, The Sun reported.
Perry never even came close to getting the bar up over his head before falling to the stage shocking the audience. Medics quickly rushed to the stage and erected a screen between the fallen athlete and the audience so they could treat him.
Strangely, the match commentator, two-time Commonwealth Games weightlifting champ Michaela Breeze, immediately assured his audience that Perry was “absolutely fine” despite his collapse and despite Breeze really having no direct knowledge of the weightlifter’s condition.
“He’s OK, he’s OK… well he’s not OK clearly. He’s alright, undo his belt, get his legs in the air, the docs there,” Breeze said from the distant announcer’s section.
“OK, so what’s happened quite simply is not getting the oxygen in,” Breeze explained. “He stood up, makes it really hard to breathe when you’ve got the bar sitting heavy on the windpipe.”
“You can see his body buckling before he even attempted the dip… he will be absolutely fine. We don’t need a paramedic on the stage, that’s a little bit OTT,” the commentator insisted.
While Perry did eventually recover, he didn’t recover soon enough to continue competing that day.
The incident comes only two days after Australian competitor Francois Etoundi tore a bicep at the games.
Steven Kari of Papua New Guinea was the ultimate winner of the Men’s 94kg. Kari successfully defended the title he won four years ago in Glasgow.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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