Runner says he was hit in regional cross-country race
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
One of the race favorites, Mohamed Noor of Lewiston High School, fell from second place to finish 124th at the 73rd New England Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Cumberland.
After the race, Noor told his coach that someone threw sand in his eyes during the race. Noor, who was vomiting after the race, was treated by ambulance attendants at the race course. His eyes were bloodshot, his coach said.
Kyle Powers, a senior from St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, told the Portland Press Herald that he felt a clump of sand and dirt hit the back of his head as he and Noor were entering the woods on the course. Powers finished eighth.
Noor, who has not spoken publicly about the incident, identified a short white man with glasses who allegedly threw the dirt. Noor, who's black, is a Muslim who came to the United States from Somalia.
Investigators are trying to identify a man who may have been wearing a green jacket or green uniform, said Police Chief Joseph Charron.
"We're looking for anybody who may have had a camera or video camera where the runners entered the woods," Charron said.
The father of another Lewiston runner said team members talked after the race about two white men who'd approached Noor and sophomore teammate Sadam Abdi prior to the race.
One man tried to hand them biblical pamphlets, said Paul Driscoll, father of Matt Driscoll, a junior on the track team. The other asked Abdi, "Are you Mohamed?" Abdi said he wasn't and pointed to Noor, Driscoll said. The man then approached Noor and wished him luck.
"That ended up being the guy who threw the sand," Driscoll said. "He must have arrived at the meet not even knowing who Mohamed is."
His coach, Ray Putnam, said after learning of the sand-throwing incident that he felt the incident was motivated by race or religion.
Source: AP, Nov 14, 2007