A freshman sprinter on the University of Georgia track team was hospitalized after he was accidentally impaled by a javelin, the school said Wednesday. Elija Godwin suffered a punctured and collapsed left lung when he backed into a javelin implanted in the ground while running backward sprints, according to a police report obtained by WXIA. Medical workers sawed off a piece of the javelin that was sticking out of Godwin’s back, the station reported. He was transported to a nearby hospital where the rest of the javelin was surgically removed by doctors. Godwin is in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery, the university’s athletic department said in a statement Wednesday. “We would like to express appreciation for all those who acted so quickly and efficiently in coming to the aid of Elija,” Georgia director of sports medicine Ron Coulson said in the statement “Special thanks to our sports medicine staff, UGA Police Department, Athens-Clarke County Fire-Rescue, National EMS, and Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center.”<doc-sep>University of Georgia sprinter Elija Godwin was impaled during practice on May 7 when he was running backwards and ran into a javelin sticking out of the ground. The freshman was transported to the hospital where a successful surgery fixed his punctured and collapsed left lung. The team is competing at the SEC outdoor championships this weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas. A University of Georgia sprinter was seriously injured during practice on Tuesday, when he was impaled by a javelin during warmups. Elija Godwin, a freshman from Covington, Georgia, was running backwards with teammates when he reportedly ran into a javelin that was sticking out of the ground around 3:30 p.m., according to a University of Georgia Police Department report shared with Runner’s World. The javelin went through his back and punctured and collapsed his left lung. Trainers immediately began treating him by applying pressure to the wound in his back and packing gauze around it. First responders arrived within two minutes of the call, and cut most of the protruding parts of the javelin off with a battery-powered angle grinder so that Godwin could be transported to the hospital. “We would like to express appreciation for all those who acted so quickly and efficiently in coming to the aid of Elija,” said Ron Courson, the school’s director of sports medicine, in a statement. “Special thanks to our sports medicine staff, UGA Police Department, Athens-Clarke County Fire-Rescue, National EMS, and Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center.” After being transported to Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital, Godwin underwent surgery to restore his left lung. Around 7 p.m., Godwin’s mother told police that the javelin had been removed and he was expected to make a full recovery. Watch: The University of Georgia wins men’s team title at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. According to his University of Georgia bio, Godwin ran on the 4x400-meter relay squad in high school where he finished second at the 2018 World Junior Championships. He also ran his season best at that meet in the 400 meters, finishing third with a time of 46.00. The incident came the day before the Georgia track and field team was set to head to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the SEC outdoor championships starting on May 9. Andrew Dawson Gear & News Editor Drew covers a variety of subjects for Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>
The javelin punctured the freshman athlete up to 6 inches deep. A University of Georgia track and field athlete was impaled by a javelin he fell onto during practice, according to reports. Freshman sprinter Elija Godwin backed into a javelin that was planted into the ground as he was doing backwards running drills on Tuesday afternoon, ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV. The puncture wound was 5 to 6 inches deep, DawgNation reported, citing a police report. The javelin had been "left on the ground at an angle," according to the site, which covers University of Georgia (UGA) athletics. The rear portion of the javelin is the side that pierced Godwin in the midle of his back, according to DawgNation. Doctors at the Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center had to perform surgery to remove the javelin, which pierced Godwin's lung, his mother, Ginger Luby, told WSB-TV. Doctors placed a camera in his body to make sure all of his other organs were functioning properly and discovered that his lung was the only organ that was hit, Luby said. Godwin is currently in stable condition at the hospital. Luby said she hopes he can run with the team again within the next few months. University of Georgia men's track coach Petros Kyprianou told DawgNation that the team expects Godwin to have a "quick recovery." UGA Director of Sports Ron Courson expressed appreciation to those of aided Elija "so quickly and efficiently" in a statement. “Special thanks to our sports medicine staff, UGA Police Department, Athens-Clarke County Fire-Rescue, National EMS, and Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center," Courson said. A spokeswoman for the University of Georgia did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.