Shocking moment athlete squares up to opponent following on-track incident
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: BBC
Chaotic scenes unfolded in a track event at the 2024 Paris Olympics as a Team GB athlete squared up to a French competitor.
The men's 5,000 meter heats descended into chaos after five runners fell to the floor.
Calls have now been put out to have one of the Olympic runners disqualified from the competition after it was alleged that they were the cause of the incident.
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Five athletes were left thrown to the floor, with some performing forward rolls as a way to avoid falling directly on their faces in Paris' Stade de France.
Among those thrown to the floor was Team GB's George Mills, who found himself thrown to the track floor.
Adding to the chaos, he then squared up to French athlete Hugo Hay.
A video from the incident on the track shows the two runners in a confrontation after the incident.
Speaking to the BBC after the race, Mills said: "I mean, I think it’s pretty clear, I got stepped out on as I was about to kick in the home straight and boom. Yeah, French lad took me down.”
🇬🇧 George Mills was NOT happy with one of his fellow 5000m competitors 😡#Olympics #Paris2024 #BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/OQ7tODFkpK
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 7, 2024
Mills was then asked what he had to say to his competitor afterwards, and replied: “I’m probably not allowed to say, but yeah, said I’d... yeah.”
The reporter then asked him if he'd been to speak to any officials yet.
He said: “I haven’t seen anyone, but I’m pretty sure that BA will be on it and put an appeal in, I hope.
"From my perspective, that was a perfect qualifier for me going through the first 2k in six minutes. I was like, ‘Alright, nobody in this field can run away from me at this pace.’
"So I was just sitting, waiting, biding my time, gonna kick off the home straight and then bang, hit the deck. But yeah, what can you do?”
"[...] I just so wanted to put my foot down on the home straight, got taken out.”
Mills added: “If this is my last race here, I wanna thank everyone at home for watching.”
People took to social media to share their thoughts on the controversial incident.
Some people said it was Hay that should be disqualified, with one writing: "George Mills has every right to be kicking off at the end of that 5000m. Hugo Hay shoves him into the other runner and leaves him on the deck.
"Was under the impression that it's not allowed and can be a DQ. He's cost runners a chance at the final."
But others placed the blame squarely with Mills.
One wrote: "Unfortunately this looks like George Mills' fault - got himself in a bad position and caused chaos trying to push to the front.
"Mills then confronting France's Hugo Hay in a pointing and shouting match after crossing the finish line was a really bad look."