The Stunning Moment an Olympic Weightlifter Dropped a 432-LB Bar on His Head...and Walked Away

LONDON (TheBlaze/AP) -- Defending Olympic weightlifting champion Matthias Steiner of Germany was hit in the neck by the barbell Tuesday and withdrew from the men's super heavyweight competition.

Steiner lost his balance trying to lift 196 kilograms - about 432 pounds - in his second lift of the snatch portion of the competition. He fell awkwardly to the platform as the barbell crashed down on him.

Medical personnel rushed up to tend to the German, who got up on his feet and waved to the crowd as he walked into the back room. He didn't come out for his third attempt.

An announcer said Steiner would be taken to the hospital for X-rays as a precautionary measure, but he is expected to be fine.

"It came to his neck, so for medical reasons he is not able to continue. But he isn't hurt badly," Michael Vesper of the German Olympic Committee told NBC. "Of course he was disappointed. He was not happy with the situation."