Mystery allergic reaction leaves 2012 Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford 'screaming in pain'

Former Olympic champion Greg Rutherford was left “clawing at his skin and screaming” in pain after a suspected allergy attack left him delirious.

The long jump gold medallist, 36, had been on a run and thought he was suffering an allergic reaction before he phoned his fiancee Susie Verrill, shouting “you need to get here now”.

Sharing the incident on her Instagram story, blogger Ms Verrill said: “Had quite literally the scariest time of my life yesterday.

“Was enjoying a lovely roast at a friend’s house with the kids, @gregjrutherford was at home because he’d been for a run and he texted to say he was having an allergic reaction to something and felt itchy.

“Didn’t think much of it until he rang me screaming two minutes later. And I mean screaming. He shouted ‘you need to get here now’ and so I drove back to our house while calling an ambulance, terrified I was about to get home and find him not breathing."

After calling 999 and being told an ambulance would take 40 minutes, Ms Verrill decided to drive Rutherford, who is from Milton Keynes, to hospital having found him in the house screaming and "acting like one of those people you see in videos where they’ve taken bath salts".

“He was clawing at his skin and screaming. Repeatedly," she said. "He ran to our car and while I rang 999 again to say I’d have to take him, we had to run every red light and I had to focus on not crashing while he screamed and tried to grab the wheel.”

Ms Verrill, who has only been driving for three months, said she was on the phone to a 999 call handler while in the car, who told her to “be safe, but hurry” to the hospital.

“It was awful, I was just waiting for him to stop breathing while also trying not to crash us,” she said.

“I threw him out at A&E, parked and when I got there they told me they’d sent him through to resus. I think mainly because he was a six foot three bloke acting like a psychopath and they didn’t want to scare anyone, but they also pumped him full of steroids and antihistamines and it seemed to work pretty much immediately.

“Thankfully by the time I got there he’d stopped screaming and raking himself.

“After three hours we were allowed to go home. I felt close to having a heart attack but aside from that it’s all good on the health front.”

Updating his followers on Instagram and thanking them for their messages, Rutherford later described it as "horrific", adding: "I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

Ms Verrill said doctors advised Rutherford to get tested for a nut allergy which he may have developed, but also suggested it could have been a viral illness.

“I can’t explain how much pain he was in. This is a bloke who shrugs off a grumbling appendix,” she said.

She added that Rutherford had undergone some tests on Monday morning.

It is 11 years since the long jumper won gold on London 2012's "Super Saturday".

He remains the British record holder having jumped 8.51m in 2014.

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