By Kevin Mills and Justin Pelletier
CUMBERLAND - A Lewiston High School runner - one of the top cross country runners in Maine and the recently crowned Class A state champion - fell from second to finish 124th at the 73rd New England Cross Country Championships on Saturday after, he said, someone threw sand into his eyes.
Lewiston runner Mohamed Noor said Saturday evening that a spectator threw sand in his face early in the race at Twin Brook Recreation Area.
"I'm livid," Lewiston coach Ray Putnam said.
Putnam said local ambulance personnel treated Noor after the race, for what he believed to be exhaustion and "being cold."
"He was shivering and he was vomiting," Putnam, said. "His eyes were bloodshot; there was no white in his eyes at all."
The Cumberland Police Department received a complaint from Putnam and has begun an investigation into the incident. Officer Peter Volk said Saturday night that police are working to arrange for a translator so they can speak with Noor. Because the situation is still under investigation, Volk declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but he said police are not investigating it as a bias incident at this time.
While Noor was being treated by ambulance personnel, Putnam was tending to some of his other runners, who were also chilled and bruised after the grueling race. It wasn't until the ride home, when another Somali runner on Lewiston's team told Putnam what Noor was saying to him.
"He was out of it all the way home, and he was talking to Bashir (Mohamed)," Putnam said. "When he became more coherent, he was able to tell us what happened. He kept saying, 'Somebody threw something in my eye. Somebody threw something in my eye.'"
When he heard what had happened, Putnam immediately informed George Mendros, the cross country liaison to the Maine Principal's Association, and he left a message for Jason Fuller, Lewiston's athletic director.
Fuller, reached later in the evening, declined comment because he wanted to know more about what happened before he spoke on the subject.
"They just took a young man who was running for the New England Championship and took it way from him," Putnam said. "It's the most infuriating thing I've seen in my life."
Noor entered the race as one of the favorites to win, and would have been a key component in Lewiston's hopes of finishing among the top teams at the meet.
Noor got a quick start and found himself among the leaders. He was second heading into the woods. That's where he said a short, white male, wearing glasses threw sand in his face. Noor struggled to see, but continued on.
Lewiston teammate Sadam Abdi finished one spot ahead of Noor in 123rd and said something in Noor's eyes hindered his running.
"He got something in his eye, and he couldn't really see," said Abdi. "Noor dropped back a little bit and tried to keep that spot. He ran hard."
Putnam says that Noor has achieved local hero status among his Somali community. His success has been a significant factor in creating harmony between cultures.
"We don't know who the person was, but this person had singled him out and had the sand in his hand and was waiting for him in the woods," said Putnam. "He must have planned this out."
Staff writer Lindsay Tice contributed to this report.
Source: SunJournal, Nov 11, 2007