Pentathlete breaks down in tears after devastating injury

Sports

A SPANISH pentathlete was left in tears after damaging her left ankle on the first day of the World Indoor Athletics Championships.

Olympic triple jump medalist Maria Vicente injured herself while attempting a high jump during the morning session at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

Maria Vicente suffered a nasty injury when she attempted a high bumpCredit: Reuters

She burst into tears after hitting the mat

Vicente appeared to damage her Achilles tendonCredit: AFP

She was quickly helped by medical staffCredit: Reuters

The Spaniard looked terrified as she was wheeled away on a stretcherCredit: Reuters

The 22-year-old lay in pain on the crash mat before being attended to by medical staff, concerned teammates and Spanish coaching members.

Vicente had already cleared heights of 1.67 meters and 1.70 meters in the competition, but when she tried to overcome 1.73 meters, it all went terribly wrong.

In obvious distress, Vicente was carried from the arena to a medical room backstage, with her left boot removed.

The tears continued to flow as she left the playing field and placed her hands on her head.

It marked the end of her competition in the women’s pentathlon, which starts and ends on Friday.

Depending on how bad the problem is, it could also mean she doesn’t participate in the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Vicente finished 18th in the heptathlon at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with 6,117 points.

It was a real blow for Vicente, who topped the leaderboard after the first event.

She scored 1113 points to win the second heat of the 60 meter hurdles, achieving a top speed of 8.07 out of all 12 pentathletes.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson is the reigning world heptathlon champion, but she has decided not to compete in the World Indoors this weekend.

A number of prominent figures from their own country have stayed away from the event, even though it is being held on British soil.

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