Olympics star COLLAPSES to the floor in agony and is carried off on a stretcher during women's 100m heats in Paris

South Sudan sprinter Lucia Moris was carried off on a stretcher after appearing to suffer a nasty injury during the women's 100 metre preliminary round at the Paris Olympics.

With the track events getting underway at the games on Friday, a key event on the agenda was the sprinting.

However, in one of the heats, Moris appeared to sustain an injury mid-way through the race, with the 23-year-old collapsing to the ground in agony about 30m shy of the finish line.

She had started the race brightly on the inside lane, but suddenly seemed uncomfortable after one particular step.

Moris then stumbled, before she pulled up and fell over, with medical staff rushed on to the track to assist her after the race concluded.

The South Sudanese athlete was left writhing on the floor in pain, clutching her leg.

She remained on the floor several minutes after the race before she was stretchered off the track by medics.

Congo's Natacha Ngoye went on to win the heat with a time of 11.34 seconds, but several of Moris' fellow competitors were quick to check she was OK.

Many fans also expressed their sympathies towards Moris after the heartbreaking moment, which came when she looked to be flying high in second place following a positive start.

One said: 'Prayers up for Lucia Moris hope she’ll be okay,' before another added: 'Never want to see that.'

Further supporters expressed their sadness at what had happened as another quipped: 'Oh god I feel so bad for Lucia Moris getting injured straight away.'

Moris was competing at her second Olympics after also being part of the Tokyo games, where she was South Sudan's flag bearer.

However, her exit in the preliminary rounds means that South Sudan are still yet to win a medal of any colour since their inaugural Olympics in Rio eight years ago.