Javelin pierces schoolgirl's neck

By PAUL YANDALL

A 15-year-old girl was hit in the neck by a javelin during an athletics competition on the North Shore yesterday.

Elizabeth McIlwain was walking through the throwing zone at Sovereign Stadium in Mairangi Bay when a competitor's javelin struck her in the back of the neck.

She was taken by ambulance to North Shore Hospital in a neck brace and was last night in a stable condition.

The Westlake Girls High School sixth former was one of hundreds of secondary school students at the stadium competing in a North Harbour school athletics qualifying tournament.

Witnesses said she had finished competing in a relay and was taking a short-cut across the middle of the field to the start of the running track.

She wandered into the javelin throwing zone and was struck just as an announcer was warning competitors to stay out of the area.

The javelin is believed to have penetrated her neck by a few centimetres but did not lodge in place.

It is unclear whether there were any cordons around the throwing zone preventing her from entering the area, or whether javelin competitors saw her enter.

The organiser of the event, Kristin School principal Dennis Brown, was not available for comment.

Rob Boston, head of College Sport, the agency responsible for overseeing the competitions, said he was investigating the incident.

"She's very lucky it wasn't more serious. It's a very unfortunate accident."

He said competition throwing zones were usually cordoned off by tape and had marshals to monitor the landing zones for javelin, discus and hammer.

"We will be looking at exactly what happened down there.

"There's a fine line between accident and negligence and we want to make sure everything was done properly."

Mr Boston said a similar accident five years ago, in which a boy was struck in the shoulder, had prompted a review of safety standards at school athletics competitions.

He said the number of athletes had been reduced, throwing zones had been carefully designated and cordoned, and some of the larger competitions had become single-sex events in order to prevent a similar accident.

But a certain level of awareness by competitors was still required.

"In this case I don't think she heard the warnings."

North Shore Hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Mackersey said Elizabeth had been checked for damage to her nervous system.

"At this stage there does not seem as if there will be any long-lasting effects. She's a very lucky girl."

Elizabeth's parents, Christopher and Frances McIlwain of Torbay, were at her side last night.