Harewood breaks leg in fall

Karen Harewood fractured her left femur in a dramatic pile-up at the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham, at the halfway point of her 800 metres heat.

Harewood was well-placed in second until she was accidentally tripped by Maria Shapayeva of Russia and fell awkwardly to the ground and - as she was unable to move clear of the inside lane - it was obvious that she had incurred a serious injury.

She was treated where she had fallen for 15 minutes and placed on an intravenous drip before being carried from the track by paramedics. UK Athletics later confirmed she had fractured a bone in her thigh.

Valentin Balakhnichev president of the Russian Athletics Federation issued a statement after the incident which also brought down Portugal's Maria Carmo Tavares and Eleni Filandra from Greece.

Balakhnichev said: "On behalf of the Russian team and the Russian Federation, I would like to apologise to the teams of Great Britain, Greece and Portugal for the unintentional upset caused by the inadvertent clash in the women's 800m first round.

"I wish the athletes an early and full recovery."

A UKA spokesman said Harewood, who is being kept in a local hospital, is in a "comfortable condition".