Quique Llopis, the athlete who fell and did not receive help from his rivals: why they advise not to watch the video

The athlete Quique Llopis He is already at home in Valencia after suffering a massive crash on Sunday during the 60m hurdles final of the European Indoor Championships which took place in Istanbul. The images of the event went around the world not only for the severity of the blow suffered by the Spanish sprinter, but also for the carelessness of his colleagues and rivals in the face of this situation.

Llopis landed late Tuesday evening at Manises airport in Valencia and from there traveled to his home in Gandía, 70 kilometers south of the capital of the Valencian Community. “I’m fine, much better now. I still have a bit of a headache, my ear is a bit blocked, but all the tests that have been done on me have gone well and they have told me that over time the problems all ear and head will resolve.” he told reporters waiting for him at the airport.

Llopis had stayed one day hospitalized in a health center in Istanbul, where he was transferred after the injury suffered in the test that closed the European Championship. The Spaniard tripped on the last fence, lost his balance, fell and hit his head on the ground. As a result of the impact, he lost consciousness.. He was treated for four minutes on the Ataköy Arena rink and then transferred on a stretcher to an ambulance which took him to hospital, where X-rays and computed tomography were performed to rule out bone and neurological injuries.

Regarding the accident, the athlete born 22 years ago in Bellreguard (also in the province of Valencia) acknowledged that it had been difficult for him to reconstruct the scene. “It was all a bit chaotic. Gradually I remembered everything up until the time of the fall. I remember being in the air, falling and then, of course, then I don’t remember anything,” he explained, and said he hasn’t seen the video of the race yet.

Llopis thanked for the numerous expressions of support and affection received in the last few hours and clarified that his priority for the next few weeks will be complete physical recovery. “The main thing now is health, running is secondary. Now to recover and I hope to be back as soon as possible,” he said. His next big challenge will be the World Athletics Championships which will take place in Budapest from August 19 to 27.

As for the reaction of his rivals after his fall (no one came around after the end of the competition to see how he was), the Valencian preferred to avoid controversy. “People fall a lot on fences and I think they haven’t noticed. Here, I don’t want to give it any more importance either ”, he stressed.

A few hours after the accident, the Swiss Jason Josephtest winner, had apologized to him via his Instagram account. “Sorry I didn’t check you were ok. I was lost at the time. I was totally blocked by my surroundings. Hope you are ok, see you at the outdoor races”he wrote.

Also in Valencia with his student, Llopis’ coach Toni Puig celebrated the athlete’s recovery and advised him to avoid watching the video of the fall so as not to become sensitive. “My advice is don’t look at the pictures, but eventually you will. We will need to analyze why he got hooked (with the fence), but I think it’s not appropriate at the moment. The only thing that worries me now is his state of health, not even his sporting state, just his state of health“, he highlighted.