Olympic drama: Things get heated during the men's 5,000m
A collision involving five athletes during the men's 5000m heats has caused some drama at the Paris Olympics.
There was drama at the Paris Olympics on 7 August when athletes were knocked to the ground during the Men's 5,000m heats.
Great Britain runner George Mills collided with France's Hugo Hay during the race's final stages, leaving Mills in 18th place. The shocker was seeing five athletes fall to the ground during the race, wondering what had just happened.
Mills and Hay's clash caused Mills to fall and further knock other runners off their feet. Mills was outraged by what happened, and many witnessed a heated argument between him and Hay.
Watch how it went down below - courtesy of X.
George Mills has been reinstated by event organisers and will progress to the men's 5,000m final. He confronted France's Hugo Hay after the incident. #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/DhShygOJCE
— Sen (@skcdew) August 7, 2024
"It looked to have ended Mills's hopes of automatically qualifying for the final as he did not finish in the top eight."
Even though Mills and Hay exchanged harsh words and engaged in physical contact, he advanced into the final. The Frenchman placed seventh in the race, while Narve Gilje Nordas from Norway won the heat.
Speaking to the BBC following the collision, Mills said: "I think it's pretty clear (what happened). I got stepped out on. I was about to kick into the straight and boom - the French lad took me down." (Sky News)
Mills, as well as three other athletes - Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu of the Refugee Olympic team, Mike Foppen of the Netherlands, and Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain - were not disqualified but advanced into the finals by the race referee.
"Former Olympic silver medallist Steve Cram, commentating on the race for the BBC, said Mills had got himself into a 'bad position'. 'George was in a bad position from a long way out, he should have checked out much earlier,'” Cram said." (The Guardian)
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Image Courtesy of X