'Brutal' new race at Paris Olympics causes chaos as several athletes refuse to turn up
The 2024 Paris Olympics' introduction of a rescue round in athletics has been described as 'brutal' by keen viewers.
In 2022, the World Athletics Council approved 'introducing a repechage round to all individual track events from 200m to 1500m in distance, including the hurdles events' for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
However, on Monday (August 5) during the 2024 Paris Olympics, multiple athletes simply didn't show up to their repechage race.
What is the 'repechage' round?
The 'repechage' round basically offers athletes who did not qualify for the semi-finals another chance.
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Announcing the introduction of the repechage round in the Paris Olympics, World Athletics president Lord Coe explained in a press release in 2022: “This is an innovation which will make progression in these events more straightforward for athletes and will build anticipation for fans and broadcasters.
"The repechage rounds will give more exposure to our sport during the peak Olympic period and will be carefully scheduled to ensure that every event on our Olympic programme retains its share of the spotlight."
All of this initially sounds great, right? However, athletics athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics have not showed up at the repechage rounds and one has even described it as 'brutal'. But why?
The problem
The athletics section of the Olympics kicked off on August 1 and on Monday (August 5) eight out of 26 runners failed to show up for the men's 400m repechage round, The Telegraph reports.
Why? A repechage round has meant some track races now have four rather than just three rounds, which adds additional strain on athletes' mental and physical wellbeing.
So much so, some athletes are deciding to simply not show up.
Australian 1500m runner Stewie McSweyn ran a time in the heats which would have seen him make the semi-finals in the old system, however, his performance in the repechage round saw him lose out.
He said, as quoted by The Telegraph: "It’s brutal. The standard of the men’s 1500m is so good that you have 24 hours less rest than everyone else and you’re going to be really up against it. It’s exciting for the crowd, which I like. But it makes it difficult. I don’t think we’re going to have too many miracle stories of guys coming from the repechage into the final."
In the women's 800m heats, Lithuania's Gabija Galvydyte also noted there's not 'enough time to recover' inbetween the heats and repechage race.
However, others have taken a different approach, tackling the additional race from a strategic point of view.
Conflicting opinions
Team USA hurdler Freddie Crittenden purposefully slowed his pace before reaching the finish line in the men's 110-meter hurdle in the knowledge he would end up in the repechage race anyway.
Not only did his slower pace mean he could take more time to 'recover' from an injury a bit longer instead, he told NBC, but the competition in the repechage would be easier too - the top three athletes already having gone through to the semi-finals.
Team USA's current medal count - 86
Gold medalists
- Lee Kiefer: Fencing - Women's individual foil
- Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
- Jack Alexj, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held, Matt King: Swimming - Men's 4x100m freestyle
- Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's team competition
- Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 1500m freestyle
- Nick Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan: Rowing - Men's coxless four
- Jacqueline Dubrovich, Lee Kiefer, Lauren Scruggs, Maia Mei Weintraub - Fencing: Women's foil team
- Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's individual all-around
- Kate Douglass: Swimming - Women's 200m breaststroke
- Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's vault
- Vincent Hancock: Shooting - Men's skeet
- Ryan Crouser: Athletics - Men's shot put
- Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 800m freestyle
- Nic Fink, Torri Huske, Ryan Murphy, Gretchen Walsh: Swimming - Mixed 4x100m medley relay
- Bobby Finke: Swimming - Men's 1500m freestyle
- Kristen Faulkner: Cycling - Women's road race
- Scottie Scheffler: Golf - Men's individual stroke play
- Noah Lyles: Athletics - Men's 100m
- Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 4x100m medley relay
- Valarie Allman: Athletics - Women's discus throw
- Caroline Marks: Surfing - Women's Shortboard
- Cole Hocker: Track and field - Men's 1500m
- Gabby Thomas: Track and field - Women's 200m
- Amit Elor: Wrestling - Women's freestyle 68kg
Silver medalists
- Nic Fink: Swimming - Men's 100m breaststroke
- Lauren Scruggs: Fencing - Women's individual foil
- Gretchen Walsh: Swimming - Women's 100m butterfly
- Haley Batten: Mountain Bike - Women's cross country
- Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh. Torri Huske, Simone Manuel, Erika Connolly, Abbey Weitzel: Swimming - Women's 4x100m freestyle
- Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook: Diving - Women's springboard 3m synchronised
- Katie Grimes: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
- Jagger Eaton: Skateboarding - Men's street
- Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
- Bobby Finke: Swimming - Men's 800m freestyle
- Carson Foster, Brooks Curry, Chris Guiliano, Luke Hobson, Drew Kibler, Blake Pieroni, Kieran Smith: Swimming - Men, 4x200m freestyle
- Perris Benegas: Cycling - Women's BMX freestyle
- Torri Huske: Swimming - Women's 100m freestyle
- Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 200m butterfly
- Erin Gemell, Katie Ledecky, Paige Madden, Simone Manuel, Anna Peplowski, Alex Shackell, Claire Weinstein: Swimming - Women's 4x200m freestyle
- Karl Cook, Laura Kraut, McLain Ward: Equestrian - Jumping team
- Sagen Maddalena: Shooting - Women, 50m rifle 3 positions
- Regan Smith: Swimming - Women's 200m backstroke
- Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram: Tennis - Men's doubles
- Conner Prince: Shooting - Men's skeet
- Joe Kovacs: Athletics - Men's shot put
- Kaylyn Brown, Bryce Deadmon, Shamier Little, Vernon Norwood: Athletics - 4x400m relay mixed
- Sha'Carri Richardson: Athletics - Women's 100m
- Kate Douglass: Swimming - Women's 200m individual medley
- Brady Ellison: Archery: Men's individual
- Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, Nic Fink, Ryan Murphy: Swimming - Men's 4x100m medley relay
- Seth Rider, Taylor Spivey, Morgan Pearson and Taylor Knibb: Triathlon - Mixed relay
- Simone Biles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's floor exercise
- Sam Kendricks: Athletics - Men's pole vault
- Vincent Hancock and Jewell Austen Smith: Shooting - Mixed team skeet
- Annette Nneka Echikunwoke: Track and field - Women's hammer throw
Bronze medalists
- Carson Foster: Swimming - Men's 400m individual medley
- Katie Ledecky: Swimming - Women's 400m freestyle
- Chloe Dygert: Cycling - Women's individual time trial
- Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, Paul Juda, Asher Hong: Artistic Gymnastics - Men's team competition
- Nick Itkin: Fencing - Men's foil individual
- Emma Weyant: Swimming - Women's 400m individual medley
- Ryan Murphy: Swimming - Men's 100m backstroke
- Luke Hobson: Swimming - Men's 200m freestyle
- Nyjah Huston: Skateboarding - Men's street
- Ilona Maher, Kayla Canett, Lauren Doyle, Alev Kelter, Kristi Kirshe, Sarah Levy, Alena Olsen, Ariana Ramsey, Steph Rovetti, Alex Sedrick, Sammy Sullivan, Naya Tapper: Rugby 7s - Women's team competition
- Katharine Berkoff: Swimming - Women's 100m backstroke
- Evy Leibfarth: Canoe slalom - Women's Canoe Single
- Suni Lee: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's individual all-around
- Casey Kaufhold, Brady Ellison: Archery - Mixed Team
- Grant Fisher: Athletics - Men's 10,000m
- Ian Barrows and Hans Henken: Sailing - Men's skiff
- Henry Hollingsworth, Nick Rusher, Christian Tabash, Clark Dean, Chris Carlson, Peter Chatain, Evan Olson, Pieter Quinton: Rowing - Men's eight
- Stephen Nedoroscik: Gymnastics - Men's pommel horse
- Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul: Tennis - Men's doubles
- Jade Carey: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's vault
- Jasmine Moore: Athletics - Women's triple jump
- Melissa Jefferson: Athletics - Women's 100m
- Paige Madden: Swimming - Women's 800m freestyle
- Suni Lee: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's uneven bars
- Austen Jewell Smith: Shooting - Women's skeet
- Fred Kerley: Athletics - Men's 100m
- Jordan Chiles: Artistic Gymnastics - Women's floor exercise
- Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Hailey van Lith: 3x3 basketball - Women's competition
- Yared Nuguse: Track and field: Men's 1500m
- Brittany Brown: Track and field - Women's 200m
- Omari Jones: Boxing - Men's 71kg
Topics: Olympics, Sport, Health, Mental Health
Poppy Bilderbeck