Chaos As Spectator Punches Runner In The Head To Stop Him Winning Race

Shocking footage has been shared online of a spectator punching a runner mid-race.

Dozens of young athletes took to the track last weekend for the Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida.

However, during the 1,600m race, one of the high school students was attacked from behind.

You can see the bizarre incident here:

Footage shared widely on social media shows a man in white vest and red shorts leading the race down the straight.

But just seconds later another man, wearing a black kit, races up behind him and punches him around the head, knocking him to the ground.

He then runs away as the race continues, much to the crowd's disgust, with people heard shouting, "Are you f***ing kidding me? Are you f***ing kidding me?"

At first, many took the attacker to have been another runner attempting to steal first place from his rival.

According to witnesses, however, he was a spectator who was standing by the side of the track, when an argument broke out with the runner.

Those watching say the man in black was standing on the track and was pushed out of the way by the runner in white as he passed him.

The runner was punched to the ground during a race (Twitter)

And it was on the next lap that he decided to exact his revenge, chasing him and punching him to the floor.

Despite the attack, however, the runner managed to finish the race.

According to TMZ, the police and and the Florida High School Athletic Association were both notified of the incident. However, no arrests have been reported.

One person who can surely sympathies with the runner is Chris Rock.

You will no doubt have seen the footage from last weekend's Oscars ceremony, when Will Smith stormed the stage and smacked the comedian across the head.

Smith, 53, took exception to a joke Rock made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia.

The 57-year-old, who was on stage to present and award, said: "Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see you."

At first, Smith appeared to laugh it off while his wife rolled her eyes, but he then walked onto the stage and smacked the comedian across the head.

Upon returning to his seat, Smith was heard shouting back at Rock: "Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth."

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Topics: Sport, US News, Viral, Twitter

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is the News/Agenda Desk Lead, covering the latest trends and breaking stories. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom