A Jamaican sprinter was left with glass in his eye after a collision between two golf carts carrying athletes at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

Andrew Hudson was unable to see clearly during his 200m semi final, in which he finished fifth with a time of 20.38 seconds.

He was advanced to Friday’s final by officials after the Jamaican successfully appealed the result. Hudson will be the ninth runner in a final that typically has eight competitors.

“I did the best I could do,” he said after the race. “I worked hard to be here and even under the circumstances, everybody has hurdles in life. If I can run I’m going to try my best.”

Hudson received medical attention for 20 minutes following the collision, delaying the first of three semi-final races by 24 minutes. The doctors flushed some glass shards out of his right eye leaving him with blurred vision.

“I don’t know what happened. It’s a blur, literally,” he said. “The race was a blur. My eyesight is a blur. I’m going to go make sure my eyesight is OK.”

The carts were taking the athletes to the warm up track in the stadium. The crash was strong enough to knock one of the drivers out of the cart.

US sprinter Noah Lyles was uninjured in the crash and qualified fastest in 19.75 seconds. The new 100m champion is aiming to defend his 200m title.

The Budapest organising committee released a statement on why the semi-finals was delayed.

“The 200m heats reorder was due to the collision of two golf carts,” the statement said. “One athlete and a volunteer were assessed and the athlete cleared to participate. The volunteer is also fine.”

Photo: the start of my very own stock photo collection for presentations by nchenga available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.