Photo: TikTok
People praised the track star and criticized the kid's missing parents.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on May 08, 2023
Everyone that’s anyone that has ever been on a track understands the unwritten rules of the polyurethane road — even if you haven’t been, common sense should steer you in the right direction.
Common sense, however, was not on one young boy’s side during what looked like a high school track meet. Video footage captured from two different angles has people online perplexed by what on Earth happened, all while defending the track runner in the clip.
The kid gets run over by a track runner after jumping onto the track during a race.
Footage from onlookers watching the race on the sidelines quickly turns into a snuff film (the kid is okay) after a young man runs past the bend and reaches the straight on a track during a relay race.
Likely feeling inspired by a long jump event that he just witnessed, at the edge of the original video that went viral, you can see a young boy jump onto the track from one of those pole vault cushions, not knowing that a race was happening at the same time as his playtime.
Immediately, parents watching this scene play out in front of them start screaming for the child to get out of the way, aware of what’s about to happen or what could potentially happen as a result of the child’s misstep.
As the track runner gets closer to where the kid is, the kid looks in the opposite direction of the runner as he tries to run forward after hearing all of the commotions — still unaware of the danger looming behind him until the last second.
The track runner attempts to move out of the way of the child running directly in front of his path, but at the speed he’s going, it’s impossible to get out of the way in time and he ends up bulldozing the child, launching him several feet away on the track.
The athlete, however, barely misses a step and recovers immediately with the baton still in his hand, maintaining his position of first place. Once the racers otherwise safely pass by, a woman rushes to the child’s aid and several others walk onto the track to follow suit.
People praised the track runner and criticized the boy’s absent parents.
One person commented “Good for him,” as another person praised his ability, saying “Clean run through and recovery, bro is an athlete!” This person also added, however, “Unfortunately, the kid's parents weren’t watching their son, that’s a shame.”
After 2.2 million views on the original clip, thousands of people tuned in to comment with an overwhelming majority defending the runner who really could not have done more to save the kid from getting run over.
“Not the runner’s fault at all,” the top comment reads. “Where are his parents? Can’t be mad at anyone but them,” someone else writes, as a third joked “Is the runner okay???” Some even blamed the kid, saying that he’s certainly “old enough” to know better.
From the other perspective, we’re able to see that the child is okay, and moves to cover himself from further harm from the other runners, but we don’t get to see much else after that — including finding out where his parents are.
People online were able to confirm, however, that the runner did end up finishing the race in first place. The person who originally posted the clip deleted their account, but the clip has been reposted all over the internet.
Hopefully, people will use it as a lesson to keep an eye on their kids and teach them that running out onto the track during a race may not end well for them.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.