RUNNING WITH THE BULLS

An American man was seriously wounded in a mock bullfight after the first running of the bulls in Pamplona, and seven other people were gored or trampled by the massive beasts.

Ray Ducharme, a 31-year-old bond trader from Charlotte, N.C., was injured in what is known as a vaquilla, in which hundreds of people chase five cows around a ring, pulling their ears and tails. The cows are smaller than fighting bulls and have less imposing horns, but they still weigh hundreds of pounds. Ducharme was thrown by a young cow. He underwent a 90-minute operation to reattach two vertebrae. "He is paralyzed in the legs and will have partial use of his arms," said Pello Pellejero, a Pamplona government spokesman.

UPDATE: July 10, 2006, CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A North Carolina man's condition deteriorated Monday after being injured last week in an event connected to an annual festival in Pamplona, Spain.

Ray Ducharme's condition worsened since Sunday while he was in intensive care and he was receiving help breathing, Pamplona spokeswoman Begona Lopez told The Associated Press Monday. Ducharme was being treated for a collapsed lung and required a tracheotomy, according to a Web site maintained by his supporters.

The latest update on the Web site www.pray4ray.com said Monday that Ducharme would be unconscious for three days while fluid was drained from his lungs. "This is a critical time in Ray's recovery," the site said.

The 31-year-old bond trader for Bank of America was left partially paralyzed in a side event Friday on the first day of the San Fermin festival. The festival dates back to the 16th century, but Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel, "The Sun Also Rises," made it an international event. Thousands of runners traditional white shirts and pants with red handkerchiefs dash in front of bulls that are raced through Pamplona's streets to the bull ring.