2024-08-07 14:00:07
At the Stade de France,
On Wednesday morning, four of the 20 athletes competing in the first round of the 5,000 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics fell in the final straight. According to Englishman George Mills, the person responsible has been found. Look for the Frenchman Hugo Hay, who in an interview with Eurosport declared with great piety: “This is the guy whose foot moved and made me fall”.
The French rider, who finished seventh in the series, clearly disagrees with this version: “I don’t know what happened. I was surprised that George came to see me after the race because I really didn’t feel anything. Well, yeah , I felt like it had grown over the past 400 years. I turned around and there was no one there, it was incredible.
“He said a few sweet words to me when he arrived.”
What happened on the last lap of the Stade de France, which is always shaken during track and field competitions? “At 200 m, the Kenyans passed me in front and stopped me, which brought me almost to a complete stop,” Hugo Hay said ruefully. But I’m so strong, I can start over like a pig and catch everyone. Yes, this is complete nonsense, there were cuts everywhere and the last 400 kilometers were a total carnage. »
Jimmy Gressier, who was sick and underperforming in the same series, fell slightly behind after this episode and ended up finishing non-qualifying ninth: “I see it growing everywhere, it’s It’s a fight, it’s a sport. We’re not going to let ourselves get beat by the guy next door. Running is a contact sport and you have to accept that, but contact is part of running. How much friction was there between Guo and Hai? “George said some sweet words to me when he arrived,” the Frenchman said with a smile. He kept telling me that it was because of me that runners fell and he didn’t care what I had to say. I understand his reaction, the adrenaline and the disappointment. »
As he walked through the mixed zone, Hugo Hay was anxious to see the images again because he was “a little afraid of being disqualified,” as his new British friends demanded. There we were able to witness a wonderful sequence of French athletes watching, for the first time, this famous sequence through a reporter’s mobile phone.
“We are not judokas”
In the full version, his live reaction is as follows: “Oh, yeah, I got pushed. But then George pushed it. Olara, but he was coming my way, why was he coming my way?” ”. The 27-year-old Frenchman, who has never been disqualified in his career, panicked for several minutes before discovering he still qualified for the final, with the four athletes who fell during the incident (including George Mills ), they were all drafted into the army.
In other series in the 5,000, it’s also a matter of strong contact that can destroy your game. “I was very confident and in a good position, finishing fifth less than 100 meters from the finish line,” said another French runner, Yann Schrub. Unfortunately, at 26 km/h, when you stumble 50 m from the finish line… I was trying not to fall, but trying not to fall meant slowing down and finishing at the end Finished last in the qualifying round. » Before the conclusion: “You have to learn to run as a group, that’s for sure. But from there to learning to avoid falling, it’s complicated. We are not judokas. » The results of French athletics remind us of this.
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