The Heat That Brought the Heat
Having just come to terms with the chaos of the women’s 5000m final, we’ve now been presented with more disarray in both heats of the men’s 5000m contest, with four men – including Britain’s George Mills – tumbling to the ground and a wayward cameraman on the track.
The first bout of Olympic drama occurred for the women on Monday (5 August), when Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who finished in second position, was briefly disqualified and stripped of her silver medal due to concerns over her mid-race shoving with Ethiopia’s Guduf Tsegay. Following a swift appeal, Kipyegon’s penalty was lifted and she was re-awarded her 5000m medal.
But this morning (7 August), things got even more physical for the men. While the summer sky was bright, the mood quickly turned dark as the 5000m competitors ticked off the laps during the first heat of the opening round – each athlete determined to finish within the top eight to book their place in the final on Saturday (10 August).
While the men performed textbook running for the first 10 laps, the foundations began to crumble just before the bell when Mills appeared to tip and be on the verge of falling. While Mills was able to restore his form, Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed – who, until that point, had been a front runner – was less fortunate and crumbled to the floor. Picking himself back up, he then ran on in a frantic bid to reach the back of the pack.
Fast-forward to the finishing stretch of this 12.5-lap race and usual running practice had gone out of the window. After what appeared to be some jostling between Mills and France’s Hugo Hay – reminiscent of the clash between Kipyegon and Tsegay in the women’s 5000m final – Mills took an almighty tumble to the ground, taking out Spain’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo, the Refugee Olympic Team’s Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu and the Netherlands’ Mike Foppen in the process. With all of the men having accelerated harder at such a crucial part of the race, Foppen even forward rolled his way to the floor.
While the four affected athletes were left confused – and, in Mills’ case, seething – on the track, Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordas powered on to win the race. As he cruised over the finish line, Nordas turned to fist-bump second-place Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia in recognition of their qualifying efforts. Meanwhile, Team GB’s long-distance talent Patrick Dever, who also ran in this heat, held his own near the front for most of the race before finishing in 13th position, having being outsmarted by most of the opposition by the end.
But what of the men that fell? Incensed by the haphazard incident, 25-year-old Mills immediately confronted Hay, whom he believed had pushed him aside to try to break ahead. This caused the Brit’s legs to get tangled and buckle, the consequence being a painful four-man pile up.
‘This lad [Hay] came and took me out,’ Mills told Eurosport after the race. ‘I dodged one fall coming into the bell – just about missed that and then just got taken out and went down 80m out. I don’t know how it looked. I knew I was boxed in, so I thought, let’s be patient until the home straight – gaps will open up. And then I hit the deck. So what can you do now?’
Hay, however, denied any wrongdoing. ‘At the end, there was a big pile-up,’ he also told Eurosport, giving his side of the story. ‘The Englishman came to tell me it was my fault, so I went to look at the slow-motion replay. As far as I’m concerned, it was someone who pushed me and I just put my elbow in.’
Thankfully, on analysing video footage of the race, officials agreed that Mills, Ndikumwenayo, Lobalu and Foppen had all been disadvantaged. As such, the four men were each granted a place in the final, which means that 20 athletes – rather than the usual 16 – will compete for 5000m gold at the Paris Games.
But if you thought that this was enough drama for one morning, let alone one event, then you can think again. The dust had barely settled on Mills’ heat before more sparks were flying in the second heat of the first-round of the men’s 5000m.
Despite an unproblematic first few kilometres, the runners found themselves up against the most unlikely (and avoidable) of obstacles with just four laps to go: a cameraman.
Most likely distracted by the field events taking place at the time, the cameraman had drifted onto the track and into the runners’ path on the inside lanes, seemingly unaware of the havoc he had generated.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who went on to win the heat in the day’s fastest 5000m time of 13:51.59, was clearly furious about the error and gestured at the cameraman to move as other runners were forced to swerve out of the way.
Having placed a surprising fourth in the 1500m final last night (6 August) – despite being the gold medallist in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a favourite to win again – Ingebrigtsen is now fired up to perform beyond his best in the 5000m. The reigning world champion over the distance, the 23-year-old will certainly want to scoop gold in Paris later this week – or reach the podium at a minimum.
Fingers crossed that the final will serve up a little less carnage.
A Final Word on the Final
The 5000m final promises to be a nail-biting race, with a larger-than-usual field of 20 athletes vying for the gold medal. The fallers from the heats will be looking to make amends, while the top contenders will be looking to make their mark on the world stage. Keep an eye out for the performance of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who will be aiming to bounce back from his disappointing 1500m finish.
