The Forgotten Tragedy of Jonathan Richter
Late in the evening of July 29 match 1/8 finals of Euro 2024 Germany – Denmark, which took place in Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park stadium, was stopped in the 36th minute of the first half. The reason is a thunderstorm that covered the German city. Match referee Michael Oliver led the teams to the dressing room and the match resumed after 25 minutes. It is likely that at this moment the head coach of Denmark Kasper Hjulmann experienced unpleasant flashbacks: 15 years ago His team had already been caught in a thunderstorm, and one of his players had ended up in a coma and later had an amputation.
In the summer of 2009, 37-year-old Julmann spent his second season as assistant coach of the Danish Nordsjælland. On July 20, his team played a test match with Hidovre. During the fight, a thunderstorm broke out over the stadium. Then things got worse: three players were struck by lightning.
The worst-hit player at the time was 24-year-old Nordsjaelland midfielder Jonathan Richter. It was reported that the footballer’s heart stopped. Richter was rushed to hospital, where he was put into an induced coma. Nordsjaelland’s match with Aalborg, which was supposed to take place on July 26, was postponed.
Richter was on a ventilator for 10 days. Doctors brought the football player out of an induced coma on July 30, and at the end of August it was decided to amputate the player’s lower left leg.
Richter was forced to retire, and Nordsjælland retired the number 26 worn by the footballer, who is now on the board of directors of the Danish club Gresreddern.
Well, Hjulmann became the head coach of Nordsjælland in 2011, leading the team to its first ever championship title and the Champions League. In 2020, Kasper was appointed head coach of the Danish national team, which he led to bronze medals at the European Championship in 2021.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
