One man gored at seventh Running of the Bulls in Pamplona

For lovers of risk, the seventh running of the bulls in Pamplona reached its climax at the barrier located on the right-hand side of City Hall square. This is where one man was gored – the second one so far this year – while another one was crushed against the side boards on the Estafeta curve. Both were overtaken by the same bull, the one that was running in the lead at high speed and was unable to slow down as it raced down Mercaderes street in spite of the non-skid liquid on the ground. Early medical reports indicate that one young man sustained a wound to his left arm, while three more were treated for conditions described by medics as not serious, and which ranged from bruises to one runner who got his backbone stepped on.

Once again, the race up the Santo Domingo hill was lighting quick, as three bold steers took the early lead. Meanwhile, the fighting bulls from the Jandilla ranch were beginning to realize that these were not the same running quarters where they’d been training for the last few months back in their native region of Extremadura.

Once this realization dawned on them, one of the bulls broke away from the herd after deciding that he might as well sweep away all the runners on his right side, which he effectively did. The mozos fled in every direction until the bull’s sharp horns finally connected with someone’s back. This young man tried to confirm the nature of what he was feeling: he attempted to turn around, and found himself face to face with two pointy horns that hurled him against the ground. The bull then aimed for the fallen runner and wounded his left arm; fortunately that was the extent of the damage, as the right horn got tangled in the man’s red waistband, which the bull pulled right off and ran away with, wearing it like a banner.

A young man found himself face to face with two pointy horns that hurled him against the ground

Perhaps feeling high on this personal victory, the same animal accelerated even more as it raced downhill on Mercaderes street, and was unable to avoid hitting the boards on the curve leading into Estafeta street, which is long and straight. Just moments before this final blow, the bull collided against a man who was running on its left, crushing him against the barrier. The bull fell to the ground, the young man twisted himself out of the way as best he could, and the bull managed to clamber back onto its feet and continue on its way, although at this point it had already been overtaken by his fellow bulls. The race down Estafeta street, with a compact herd led by two steers, made for some nice runs in a less crowded atmosphere than other days.

The Jandilla bulls lived up to their reputation for speed: they clocked in at two minutes, 13 seconds from the bullpen to the ring. Two stragglers had difficulty pushing their way through the crowd of runners reaching out for their rumps and standing in their way, but they ignored all the impertinence and finally entered the ring, where they joined their brothers to get some rest from this surprising, fun and unexpected experience, until their next activity of the day.

English version by Susana Urra.