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PROVO, Utah -- The high school athlete whose javelin went through the leg of a newspaper photographer won the Utah 4-A title.
The throw was long enough to earn first place. But Anthony Miles' next heave -- 170 feet, 9 inches -- was even a few inches better and gave him the title Saturday.
"My heart just stopped. ... It was just a nice relief that he was going to be all right," said Miles of Provo High School.
Ryan McGeeney of the Standard-Examiner was struck just below the knee. He was taking pictures of the discus event and apparently wandered into the javelin area, which was off-limits.
"He never saw it hit him," said Dave Wilkey of the Utah High School Activities Association.
The tip of the javelin went through the skin and emerged on the other side of his leg.
"It wasn't real painful. ... I was very lucky in that it didn't hit any blood vessels, nerves, ligaments or tendons," McGeeney said.
Much of the javelin was cut at the scene. The piece in McGeeney's leg was removed at a hospital, and he received 13 stitches.
"One of the first things that came to my mind was, 'Good thing we brought a second javelin,"' Miles' coach, Richard Vance, said Monday.
He said Miles was "in a little bit of shock," but he assured the athlete that it was not his fault.
McGeeney, 33, who was in the Marines and spent six months in Afghanistan, took a picture of his leg before the javelin was removed.
"If I didn't, it would probably be my editor's first question when I got back," he said.
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