Parents have spoken out after they claim kids were 'close to being killed' when Oldham cyclist Matt Walls crashed into the crowd at the Commonwealth Games.
The incident, which happened at the Lee Calley VeloPark on Sunday, saw Mr Walls go over the railings and into the crowd. While he miraculously avoided any major injuries and was discharged from hospital with only a few bruises, the incident still saw the rest of the morning session get cancelled.
Two spectators, including a young girl, received treatment for their injuries in the velodrome while two other riders, Matt Bostock and Derek Gee, were taken to hospital after several riders crashed during the qualifying for men's scratch race.
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Laura and Hugh Colvin, whose children were sitting where Mr Walls catapulted into the stands, told the BBC : "I think what's been quite hard for us to get our head around is being able to see from the photographs that were taken of the incident exactly how close this came to be a complete catastrophe and how close our two younger children came to being seriously injured or killed.
Hugh added: "You can see the trajectory of how the bike came through grazed my daughter's shoulder and there's one other photo you can see where obviously we're underneath the wheel and I was facing the other because I turned my head but it must have been centimetre, millimeters of our heads and close enough to graze my daughter."
Laura added: "If we had known for a moment that there was a risk that a bike with an adult male going at that speed could come into contact with my seven-year-old daughter my family would never have been there."
Dame Laura Kenny has called for more action at the games to be taken. She said: "I think the crashes are getting worse and it’s because the speeds are getting higher, the positions (on the bike) are getting more extreme,” the five-time Olympic champion said. “Some of the pursuit positions people are getting in, you see people crashing into the back of people.
“At some point the UCI are going to have to put a cap on these positions. Maybe there should be screens because Matt should not have been able to go over the top and into the crowd, that’s pretty damn dangerous.
“It’s the third time now I’ve been in a velodrome and witnessed someone go over the top…
“(Matt) was laughing and making jokes with the paramedics which is brilliant to hear but if he’d (not gone over) he would have done less damage and certainly done less damage to the little girl”.
A statement from Team England said: “Following medical treatment in hospital, Matt Walls has been discharged with stitches in his forehead, scrapes and bruises but thankfully no major injuries.
“We send our best wishes to all other riders and spectators involved in the crash and thank the medical teams for their expert care.”
The Isle of Man team said Bostock had a CT scan from which the initial prognosis was positive. He was later discharged.
Kenny put her lowly 13th-placed finish in the women’s points race down to poor form, but said the incident had been on her mind when she came to the velodrome for the afternoon session.
“I messaged Jason and said, ‘I’m not sure I want to do this’,” she said. “It puts everything into perspective when something like that happens. I’m just glad he was conscious straightaway because Joe (Truman’s) crash yesterday was enough to make you think.
“We all know it’s a dangerous sport so when you’re not feeling physically fit to put yourself at the front of it you can’t help but think, ‘Why am I doing this?’
In a statement, a Birmingham 2022 spokesperson said: “Following a crash at the morning session of track and para track cycling at the Lee Valley VeloPark, three cyclists and two spectators have been treated by the onsite medical team.
“The three cyclists have been taken to hospital. The two spectators did not require hospital treatment…
“We would like to send our best wishes to the cyclists and spectators involved in this incident and to thank the medical team for their swift action.”
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