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American Gored During Pamplona's Running of the Bulls

American Mike Webster was gored during his 38th time running with the bulls in Pamplona.

Hemingway glorified Pamplona's annual Running of the Bulls, but perhaps that's best left to fiction. Uncomfortable as it sounds, Mike Webster, a 38-year-old therapist from Florida, was hospitalized after being gored in the armpit Tuesday morning.

Out of the 11 injured people, Webster is the only one who remained hospitalized as of last night. In a race that's claimed 15 lives since 1910, a holy armpit isn't the worst it could be. While between 200 and 300 of people get trampled each year, the majority causes of death have been by way of the bull horn.

The seemingly suicidal-homicidal Spanish tradition of Running of the Bulls is rumored to have started in the 14th century, as people, wine and sangria got mixed in with transporting the livestock from Pamplona's bullpen to the bullfighting stadium below. This soon turned into a competition, and, Spain being Spain, the event was assigned a religious meaning. Today, the event celebrates Pamplona's patron Saint Fermín, who died from being dragged by the ankles by a bull.

While it's usually a sport that highlights the runners, the bulls—with their score-sheet-like injury and death counts—have taken on some beautiful athletic formations:

The event was Webster's 38th time running with the eight-day festival in 11 years. But if you want to die by animal, we recommend staying stateside.