The hammer weight, thrown by a participating high school student, flew out of bounds at the Colorado Springs meet.

A person is dead in Colorado after having been hit by an errant weight thrown by a competitor at a youth track and field competition.

"During a club sports track and field meet for high school students from across Colorado, taking place at the Mountain Lion Fieldhouse on the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs campus, a member of the attending audience was killed when a hammer thrown by a participant cleared certified barriers and struck him," the university's statement said.