The French runner involved in an altercation with British athlete George Mills at the Olympics has given his take on the ugly scenes that marred their 5000m heat on Wednesday.
There was chaos at the end of the opening men's 5000m heat at the 2024 Games, with a total of five athletes falling during the race.
Team GB's Mills, the son of former Premier League football Danny Mills, took a nasty tumble on the closing stretch of the race following a collision with France's Hugo Hay.
Advert
Hay managed to stay on his feet during the incident and ended up qualifying for the final, taking the seventh qualification spot.
After seemingly missing out on qualification for the final, Mills went to confront Hay at the end of the race.
He appeared to swear at the Frenchman before squaring up to him, with the two men pushing each other.
Advert
Speaking to the BBC after the race, Mills refused to reveal what he said to Hay during their altercation – but said he hoped to appeal.
Hay has now spoken out about what happened, saying he 'hopes he didn't do anything' that could lead to him being disqualified.
The Frenchman also said that if he had done anything wrong, he would apologise.
"I'm really surprised. I just hope that I didn't do anything and I will not be disqualified," he said.
Advert
"For me, that was nothing. Like I said to George, I will watch the images and if I'm the guy that did it, I will apologise. For me, I didn't do anything. I just hope that I can go in the final."
Speaking after the race, Mills claimed Hay had taken him out in the final stretch.
"Coming into the home straight in was tucked into the inside on the last lap, where I wanted to be because I knew some sort of gap would open up... it was clear," he told the BBC.
"I don't know if you guys could see it on the TV. Look, I wouldn't go for a gap if it wasn't there. That would be a pretty dumb strategy... I pulled onto the outside and there was space."
Advert
He added: "I got stepped out on...then boom, the French lad took me down!"
When asked what he said to Hay, Mills said: "I'm probably not allowed to say.
"It was a perfect qualifier for me. I was thinking nobody in this field can keep up with me and then bang hit the deck. But what can you do?"
Sky News has since reported that Mills has been advanced to Saturday's 5000m final following an appeal from British Athletics.
Advert
The race referee advanced Mills and three other athletes involved in collisions during the race - Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu of the Refugee Olympic team, Mike Foppen of the Netherlands and Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain.
Rory O'Callaghan