Sprinter leaves rival with suspected 'broken skull' after disgusting act during race that left judges horrified

A junior sprinter has left a rival with a suspected broken skull after hitting her in the head with a baton during a relay race.

The shocking incident occurred during a 4x200-metre relay race in the American state of Virginia on Monday.

The race saw teams from different local high schools compete for the gold medal.

But the situation quickly got out of hand during the final leg of the race.

During the race, Brookville High School junior sprinter Kaelen Tucker overtook her rival on the outside going around the final bend.

But as she was about to run clear into second place, her third-placed rival - who appeared to sense that she would not be able to re-overtake - decided to hit Tucker over the head with her baton.

The junior, who was clearly in significant discomfort, stumbled over to the side of the track while holding her head.

Unsurprisingly, her rival - who was racing for I.C Norcom High School - and her entire team were immediately disqualified from the race by the judges due to 'contact interference'.

You can see the incident below.

Tucker's mother confirmed that she had suffered a 'slight concussion' and was being examined over a potential skull fracture, though doctors will have to wait for swelling to reduce before an official diagnosis can be reached.

Speaking to WSET ABC News on Thursday, Tucker provided her first reaction to the incident and explained how she felt immediately afterwards.

She said: "So on the back curve, I had kind of got cut off, and I tried to pass her the first time.

"So I let her go ahead, so I knew when I got fully on the curve, I was just going to have to push through and pass her.

"As we were coming up to the middle of the curve, we were bumping arms a lot. So I got more on the outside of the curve to go around her.

"When I finally pushed through to get in front of her, that's when she hit me in the head with a baton.

"I was so in disbelief. I didn't know what happened - I just got hit in the head and fell off the track.

"No-one [from the opposition], at the time, came up and checked on me or anything.

"I'm feeling okay. I still have a little headache. I just don't like the fact that it's taking me off the track."

Her mother added: "We don't know all of the actions that are going to be taken, but my whole thing was, no apology. No coaches, no athlete, no anything. Even if it was an accident, which I don't believe it was, nothing.

"And it's been more than 24 hours now. My child was hurt and nobody came to check on her."