The man who was killed by a stray weight in a hammer throw event at a Colorado University track and field meet was trying to shield his wife and son from the incoming weight, according to witnesses.
Wade Langston, 57, was killed Sunday at the Colorado United Track Club meet when the weight cleared “certified barriers” and struck him in a field house at the university campus.
“He was a truly wonderful person who brought laughter to every room he entered,” a relative wrote on a GoFundMe set up for Langston’s son.
The weight used in the hammer throw event is a ball on a chain that weighs 16 pounds for men and 9 pounds for women.
University officials declined to comment on whether how the safety barriers were set up may have contributed to the tragic accident.
