Female runner speaks out after male athlete accidentally trips her and overtakes her in 10K race

A runner has explained how she became ‘furious’ after being tripped and couldn’t make a record-beating attempt.

Tayla Kavanagh has been overcoming injuries for years, and now, a fall.

Kavanagh battled serious injuries in 2023 and 2024, such as a stress fracture that kept her sidelined for weeks and upon her arrival back to the sport, she was met with a knee injury.

Two years later, she’s back and ready to take on her races like never before, but the South African athlete has been dealt another blow.

Despite claiming victory at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10K on Sunday (August 30) and set a new course record of 31:39, her hopes of beating Glenrose Xaba’s South African 10km record were dashed.

It came after footage showed her being tripped around the 3km mark by a fellow runner, who continued with his run as she hit the pavement at speed.

Tayla Kavanagh was tripped during her race (X)

After the event, Kavanagh explained how she found the race in a post-race conference.

“I was really furious at the time,” Kavanagh revealed, per Cape Argus. “It was a little bit unexpected, but no matter what happens, I always tell myself that you’ve got to get up and keep going regardless of what occurs.”

What you can also see in footage of the trip shared on social media, is that after the runner bounced off the pavement, she quickly got back up, dusted herself off and caught back up to the runner.

In the end, she went on to call it a ‘really good run’.

“I just said to myself mentally, ‘Get up, you’ve still got to put in the work and get the job done.’ So I recollected myself after a bit of a stumble and tried to use that adrenaline to keep going,” she continued.

But the fall still cost her a record-holding title.

“The SA record that Glenrose holds is definitely something that I do want to get in the near future,” she said. “I do respect the record, though, so I know it will come on a good day when all things are aligned.”

The race could have seen her beat a record (Photo credit should read RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP via Getty Images)

“It’s something I’d love to have my name next to. So, yeah, patience is key. I know it’ll come when the time is right,” Kavanagh added.

However, it wasn’t all bad, as she said she was happy compete at her own club race.

“I’ve always wanted to win my own club race, so today I think that was just really special,” she said.

As for the person who could be seen accidentally tripping her, he has not been unmasked, but social media users have thoughts on the footage.

While there were those who have been convinced that he intentionally tripped her, others say it was actually Kavanagh who was in the wrong – pointing to her position in the lane.

One person wrote on X: “Why did she cut in front of him though? It doesn’t look like a corner.”

Another said: “And he moved on like nothing happened.”

Someone else commented: “You can clearly see based on the lines of the road that she cut in front of him. He even tried to avoid her by moving to the right. But she cut in front and then their legs hit. That’s it. Her fault actually.”