Gored During Running of the Bulls? Going Again???

Image: PHOTO: Four Americans have been gored during the annual running of the bulls in  Pamplona, Spain. (photo via Wikipedia/Atkins525)
Image: PHOTO: Four Americans have been gored during the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. (photo via Wikipedia/Atkins525)
Monica Poling
by Monica Poling
Last updated: 2:44 PM ET, Sun July 9, 2017

At least five people, including four Americans, have been gored by bulls during this year's San Fermin Festival, better known as "The Running of the Bulls," held annually in Pamplona, Spain.

Three men-two Americans and a Spaniard-were injured during the first day of the eight-day festival, while another two were injured on the second day. On the third day, no injuries caused by bulls were reported, although a number of spectators suffered bumps and bruises while fleeing the bulls. None of the reported injuries were life-threatening, although several people were hospitalized.

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Among the hospitalized is Chicago native Bill Hillmann who says he plans to run at least once more before the festival ends.

Hillmann, who has participated in the annual festival for the past 12 years and was also gored during the 2014 festival, has also published a book on the subject in 2015, Mozos: A Decade Running with the Bulls of Spain. He ,

He said that this year's injuries aren't as bad as the last time.

"I am probably going to run tomorrow or the next day, sure at this festival," he told the AP (h/t ABC News.) "I am already walking. The first time, I wasn't walking for a week."

He also told the AP he didn't even realize he'd been gored.

"I flew up in the air and landed on my back," He said. "I didn't know I was gored at first. Then people started telling me I was gored and pulled me over to the medics. I pulled down my pants and there was blood."

[READMORE]READ MORE: Europe's Sizzling Summer Festivals[/READMORE]

Another American suffered more serious injuries during the Saturday run. Identified by WBBM Chicago identified as Californian Jack Capra, the man was stabbed in the arm by the bull's horns before he was dragged for several yards and eventually trampled by the bull. He is said to be in serious condition.

Like many Americans, Hillman said he learned about the event when reading Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," which the Nobel Literature laureate published in 1926.

Although the festival is wildly popular with international visitors, it also draws its share of protestors.

""We have limitless ways to entertain ourselves that don't involve harassing, torturing or killing animals," said animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in a Twitter post.

According to Diario de Navarra, more than a half-million people attend the annual festival, including some 150,000 international visitors.


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