Javelin accident 2007

A German track and field official died Monday a day after he was struck in the face and throat by a javelin thrown by a 16-year-old competitor at a youth athletic competition in Dusseldorf.

Dieter Strack, 74, an experienced domestic javelin referee, was trying to measure the distance of a throw that was still in the air when he was hit.

"He ran to the sector while the throw was still in the air," Jochen Grundman, an organizer of the 66 th Wilhelm Unger Games, told ABC News.

"He probably thought he would calculate the airpath correctly before the javelin touched the ground."

The javelin, which weighs about 700 grams (1.5 pounds) and its steel tip struck the official in the cheek and went down the neck, Grudman said.

He shouted, grabbed the javelin, taking it out of his body, and dropped to the ground as officials, a doctor and athletes rushed to him.

The 16-year-old competitor watched in shock from