Overview

• At the Dubai debut of the Runit Championship League, three of the 12 athletes were withdrawn with suspected concussions and ex-NRL player Kevin Proctor suffered a knockout.
• Competitors race head-on down a 20-metre by 4-metre track in a contest judged on physical dominance for an Aus$200,000 first prize.
• Runit officials assert that all participants complete full medical evaluations including brain scans and are supported by pitchside medical teams.
• Health authorities, including the New Zealand Medical Journal, warn that the sport’s engineered collisions pose unacceptable acute and long-term brain injury risks.
• Despite political calls in New Zealand to ban or regulate the spectacle, promoters plan to expand the competition into the United States.