Scotland's Hawkins suffers collapses in marathon

Gold Coast, Apr 15 (AFP) Scottish runner Callum Hawkins dramatically collapsed while closing in on victory in a sweltering Commonwealth Games marathon today.

In temperatures of 27 degrees C (80 F), Hawkins was leading by more than two minutes when his legs gave way and he crashed to the curb before struggling to his feet and carrying on.

But he was clearly in trouble and with only about two kilometres (just over a mile) to go, he stumbled heavily into a roadside barrier, banging his head before being left lying on the ground.

There was an anxious wait before any assistance reached him, by which time Australia's Michael Shelley was passing the scene en route to gold.

Team Scotland said Hawkins had been taken to hospital but that "there are no major concerns at this stage"