Bull Run Begins in Spain; 1 Person Gored
BY AMANDA RIVKIN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 7, 3:54 AMUPDATED 5 HOURS 39 MINUTES AGO
PAMPLONA, Spain - One person was gored in the buttock and another suffered a shoulder injury as the running of the bulls got under way Saturday. Both were evacuated by ambulance, officials said.
The number of revelers swelled this year because the traditional start day, July 7, fell on a weekend. The start of the run, normally at 8 a.m., was delayed by six minutes because police were still clearing the streets of debris and drunken crowds packing the streets after dawn.
Emergency work coordinator Jose Aldaba said injuries "have been relatively light," mostly cuts and bruises.
The bulls, which spend the night in an enclosure just outside the town center, are run daily during the San Fermin Festival to Pamplona's central bullring.
Injuries are common as the crowds strive to keep ahead of the bulls in narrow streets.
Since records began in 1924, 13 people have been killed. The last fatality, a 22-year-old American, was gored to death in 1995.
Last year a 31-year-old American man, Ray Ducharme, was thrown by a young cow in an event at the bullring following the first run. He underwent a 90-minute operation to reattach two vertebrae.
The San Fermin Festival dates back to the late 16th century but gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
Spain's Fighting Bulls Come Out Running
By AMANDA RIVKIN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jul 8, 8:17 AMUPDATED 14 HOURS 59 MINUTES AGO
A reveler gets hooked by the horn of a ...
PAMPLONA, Spain - Spain's largest fighting bulls lived up to their fearsome reputation, goring two and crushing at least seven people as thousands of daredevils sprinted down narrow streets Sunday in Pamplona's annual running of the bulls.
The second of eight bull runs in the weeklong San Fermin festival involved the black and reddish-colored Miura bulls, renowned as the largest fighting bulls in Spain.
As they charged down the 800-yard route, two of them fell and, appearing to lose their way, turned on the crowd of runners. Two people were gored.
Despite the animals' size, experts admire the Miura breed for their power and grace, which inspired legendary Italian car maker Ferruccio Lamborghini to name one of his most famous sports cars after the animals.
The lightest of the animals, a Miura named Majito, weighed 1,433 pounds. The heaviest, Huigerito, was 1,532 pounds.
The cobblestone streets of the city's old quarter were jammed with hung over thrill-seekers from around the world, all after a taste of Spanish-style danger.
"People stumble and fall in front of you but you have to just keep running, jump, knock them out of the way. It brings back old football days," said John Mauger, 61, a retired homicide detective from Huntington Beach, Calif.
Among those injured Sunday was Francisco Itarte, a San Fermin bull herder and one of several men charged with trying to keep the runs as orderly as possible. He was gored, as was a 24-year-old runner from Valencia.
Another of the injured, Modou Mbengue from Senegal, underwent an operation on his left forearm. A 23-year-old French man and seven Spaniards _ one transported by ambulance wearing a neck brace _ were treated in Pamplona's hospitals, said Beatriz Perez of the local government.
Since records began in 1924, 13 people have been killed. The last death, a 22-year-old American, was gored in 1995.
The San Fermin festival dates back to the late 16th century but gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
7 Gored at Running of the Bulls in Spain
By MAR ROMAN, Associated Press Writer
4 hours agoUPDATED 3 HOURS 43 MINUTES AGO July 11, 2007
A reveler is tossed by a calf during the ...
MADRID, Spain - Charging bulls gored seven people and seriously injured several others Thursday as this year's San Fermin festival in Pamplona served up its longest and most dangerous run yet.
Thirteen people were hospitalized, seven for gorings and six for treatment of head and other injuries, the local government said in a statement. Three were reported to be in very serious condition after undergoing operations
The pack of six 1,300-pound bulls and six steers _ meant to keep the bulls running in a single pack _ disintegrated shortly after the animals set off on the dash through the cobblestone streets of Pamplona in the sixth of eight planned runs.
One stray bull turned around and ran the wrong way. Herders with long sticks smacked it in the rump to get the animal pointed in the right direction.
The loose bull charged and tossed several runners _ some of them clad in the traditional red-and-white garb of San Fermin _ on its way to the bullring.
Several runners were trampled and seven runners were injured by bulls' horns. One 48-year-old man from Pamplona was gored in the chest and was reported to be in very serious condition. A 23-year-old Mexican was gored in the stomach and was also reported as very serious.
The other runners who were gored were from Poland, Norway, Spain and the United States, with ages ranging from 23 to 50, officials said. They were all reported to be in serious condition.
The run lasted 6 minutes, 9 seconds, compared with the normal length of about 2 minutes, because the bulls separated _ the most dangerous thing that can happen at Pamplona.
The festival in this northern town, renowned for its all-night street parties, dates back to the late 16th century. It gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
Since record-keeping began in 1924, 13 people have been killed during the runs, the most recent in 1995.
U.S. Brothers Recovering From Gory Run
By AMANDA RIVKIN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 14, 7:42 AMUPDATED 6 HOURS 13 MINUTES AGO
MADRID, Spain - A bull that broke from the pack seriously gored two American brothers, catching one on each of its horns during the running of the bulls festival in Pamplona, where both were recovering Friday in the hospital.
Lawrence and Michael Lenahan were gored simultaneously by the bull, which also injured 11 other people Thursday. It was the worst day for injuries in the nine-day festival.
"I started yelling at my brother to show him I was bleeding everywhere but he showed me he was bleeding everywhere," said Lawrence Lenahan, a 26-year-old Air Force captain from Hermosa Beach, Calif., in a telephone interview from his hospital bed.
He was gored in the buttocks, while Michael Lenahan, 23, of Philadelphia, was injured in his leg and was recovering well from surgery at the same hospital.
Michael Lenahan had recently overcome testicular cancer that had spread to his abdomen and the brothers were celebrating.
"He decided he wanted to live life to the fullest. He said 'Once a year I'll do something exciting.' And he did," their father, Larry Lenahan of Westlake, Ohio, told WEWS-TV in Cleveland.
The brothers had watched one bull run before taking part. Thursday's run _ the sixth day of the festival _ was their first.
The pack of six 1,300-pound bulls and six steers _ intended to keep the bulls running in a single pack _ disintegrated shortly after the animals set off on the course through the narrow, cobblestone streets of Pamplona.
The run lasted 6 minutes, 9 seconds, compared with the usual length of 2 minutes because one bull separated _ the most dangerous thing that can happen.
"I remember looking back and thinking I was in trouble," Lawrence Lenahan said.
As he sat in his hospital bed, Lawrence Lenahan posed holding the front page of a Spanish newspaper that showed both him and his brother on the horns of the same bull.
He said he remembered using his shirt to help wrap his brother's leg as medical service staff arrived to help them.
"I think my brother and I underestimated the speed and danger of it," Lawrence Lenahan said.
Another participant, Christopher Neiff, 24, of Norway, had the bull's horn tear into his shin and slide under the skin right up to his knee. Festival organizers said Neiff had a nearly 5-inch wound, but that the bone was not affected.
"We will definitely be back again," Lawrence Lenahan said. "My brother will never run (in the festival) again, but he would like to come back to celebrate."
The San Fermin festival in Pamplona, renowned for its all-night street parties, dates back to 1591. It gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
Since records began being kept in 1924, 13 people have been killed in the runs. The last fatality, a 22-year-old American, occurred in 1995.
U.S. brothers Michael, right, and Laurence Lenahan are gored at the same time by a fighting bull during a traditional bull run in Pamplona, Spain, Thursday July 12, 2007. The two brothers were gored Thursday during the longest and bloodiest morning bull run at the San Fermin festival in the northeastern city of Pamplona. Lawrence Lenahan, 26, of Hermosa Beach, Calif. and Michael Lenahan, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa. were gored by a bull who strayed from the pack, turned around and ran the wrong way. (AP Photo/ Larrion Pimoulier)
U.S. brothers Lawrence, left, and Michael Lenahan are seen an instant before being gored at the same time by a fighting bull during a traditional bull run in Pamplona, Spain, Thursday July 12, 2007. The two brothers were gored Thursday during the longest and bloodiest morning bull run at the San Fermin festival in the northeastern city of Pamplona. Lawrence Lenahan, 26, of Hermosa Beach, Calif. and Michael Lenahan, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa.
Michael Lenahan, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa. lies on a hospital bed as he looks at the front page of a newspaper showing the moment that he was gored by a fighting bull during a traditional bull run in Pamplona, Spain, Friday July 13, 2007. Two American brothers were gored Thursday during the longest and bloodiest morning bull run at the San Fermin festival in the northeastern city of Pamplona. Lawrence Lenahan, 26, of Hermosa Beach, Calif. and Michael Lenahan, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa. were gored by a bull who strayed from the pack, turned around and ran the wrong way. The older brother suffered an eight-inch (20-centimeter) goring in the left buttock after a dangerous sharp right turn in the course Lenahan described as a "dead man's curve." The younger brother was injured shortly before the bull ring, the end point of the daily runs, after the bulls horn entered beneath his skin in his right shin. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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