A Chinese speed skater has been accused of cheating after viewers spotted her allegedly tripping her competitor.
During yesterday's quarter-final of the women’s 500-metre short-track speed skating race, China's Fan Kexin has been accused of sliding a black marker towards Canadian competitor Alyson Charles, causing her to fall while also taking herself down.
However, in what seems like a cruel twist of fate, Charles' 18-year-old Canadian teammate Florence Brunelle was then penalised after Fan and Charles fell.
Clips and gifs of the moment in question have been shared across social media, seemingly showing Fan's hand making contact with the marker before it slides across and hits Charles' skates in the final lap. Olympic viewers have turned out in spades online, sharing their fury at the 'truly Olympic level cheat'.
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'Recheck the video footage… it’s was the Chinese competitor who flicks the marker into the path of the Alyson Charles, not Florence… she doesn’t actually touch it in any way… Fan’s arm is in front of of Florence obstructing then hits the marker with her hand then flicks it,' one user wrote.
'Took me several views to see that the hand throwing the puck actually belongs to the skater on the outside, snaking an arm past the Canadian skater on the inside of the turn. Gotta say, the cheating shows amazing precision and coordination. Truly Olympic level cheat,' another wrote.
'Canadian skater Florence Brunelle was wrongly DQ’d in the Women’s 500 metre short track semi. You can clearly see it was the hand of the Chinese skater Fan Kexin that pushed the marker that caused the spill. Bad call,' a third tweeted.
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'Anybody else see the women’s short track speed skating event here a Canadian skater Florence Brunelle was disqualified because a Chinese skater Fan Kexin cheated? It may just be sports but it’s criminal,' a fourth wrote.
'Clearly she cheated. You can clearly see her pushing the disc forward into the Canadian's skate. And she cheated in the 2018 Olympics as well,' a fifth alleged.
On Reddit, others have joked that it's like Mario Kart. 'Mario Kart red turtle,' one wrote. 'This is Mario Kart sir,' a second commented.
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Charles was permitted to advance to the semi-final after judges ruled the fall wasn't her fault, and she would have placed second if it wasn't for the fall. However, Brunelle was disqualified for making an illegal pass earlier in the race.
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Topics: Olympics
