MEXICO CITY – Mexican former track star Noe Hernandez’s condition has been upgraded from critical five days after he was shot in the head at a nightclub in this capital, doctors said.

The 34-year-old former race walker and silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney is still undergoing intensive therapy but may be released from the hospital in about 10 days, according to Dr. Carlos Castillo Rangel, the surgeon in charge of his treatment since he was hospitalized on Dec. 29.

Hernandez suffered a gunshot wound to the head at a nightclub in metropolitan Mexico City that resulted in the loss of his left eye and severe damage to his right eye, although his condition has improved in recent hours, the surgeon said.

The ex-athlete has minimal vision in his right eye and doctors said in a bulletin released Thursday to the Mexican press that he still may lose sight completely.

Hernandez has made “favorable progress,” Castillo said, noting that he can feed himself, has taken several steps and that doctors have ruled out the possibility of life-threatening kidney and pulmonary complications.

Hernandez finished second to Poland’s Robert Korzeniowski in the 20-kilometer race walk in Sydney and recorded his personal-best time of 1:18:14 in that event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Saint-Denis, France.

The 34-year-old Hernandez serves as sports secretary of the executive committee of the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in Mexico state, which surrounds the Federal District and forms part of the Mexico City metropolitan area.

He was shot Sunday at a nightclub in Los Reyes La Paz, a city located about 30 kilometers (nearly 19 miles) from the Mexican capital.

The shooting – which is currently under investigation – left two dead and two wounded, including Hernandez. EFE