An Oregon track and field star's eye was pierced with a javelin after he tripped and fell onto the heavy spear during a meet Friday, his former high school coach said.
Parker Kennedy, 18, was competing at the USA Track & Field Oregon Championships at Portland's Jesuit High School when he fell face-first into the javelin, said Hood River Valley High School track and field coach Donnie Herneisen.
Herneisen told NBC News that Kennedy had just graduated from Hood River Valley on June 10.
Kennedy was hospitalized at Oregon Health Sciences University hospital, where he was originally listed in serious condition, but upgraded to stable condition Saturday, Herneisen said.
NBC affiliate KGW reported that a staff member at the meet removed the javelin from Kennedy's eye before medics arrived.
Kennedy is a star athlete and won the State Pole Vault Championship in May. His victory "helped Hood River Valley High School win the first team state championship in the school’s history," Herneisen said. The athlete has been signed to compete for the University of Washington, he added.
