The British athlete Jessica Warner-Judd has been provisionally diagnosed with epilepsy after having a focal seizure during the 10,000m at the European Championships in Rome on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old, who competed for GB at the Tokyo Olympics, withdrew with 600m remaining and, while being assessed in the medical centre, said she had a further seizure which led to her being sedated and spending the night in hospital.
Judd, who also had a mid-race seizure in March, said she was “not sure what the future holds at the moment”. “It has been an incredibly tough couple of months,” she said. “I’m not sure what my year will look like but I’m eager not to let this stop me and be back running soon.”
Focal seizures typically occur in one area on one side of the brain, and can last between a few seconds and two minutes.
Organisers had been criticised for the lack of sponges and water for runners, but Warner-Judd praised the British Athletics’ medical staff. “From getting off the bus to the warm-up track, I can’t explain it, something felt off,” she said. “I don’t remember much about the race apart from around 3k in, my head felt incredibly tight, but I stubbornly persevered. With 600m to go I suffered a seizure and was taken to the medical centre. I suffered a further seizure and so was sedated and taken to hospital where I spent the night.”
Warner-Judd finished eighth over 10,000m at last year’s European Championships in Budapest in one of the best performances of her career. However, after a disappointing run in last month’s Diamond League in Oslo, she said: “It’s just not happening.” She also revealed she had a mid-race seizure in a 10,000m in California in March.
Warner-Judd is the third fastest British woman over 10,000m, behind Eilish McColgan and Paula Radcliffe.
