Team GB athlete pushes and squares up to rival after four runners wiped out in 5,000m race | Other | Sport

Team GB athlete George Mills was furious after taking a tumble in the first men’s 5,000 metre heat at the Paris Olympics. And he confronted France Hugo Hay after the race had come to an end.

The race proved to be a tactical affair run at sluggish pace and took more than 90 seconds longer than world record time to complete.

And on the home straight, a whole host of athletes collided as four runners were grounded.

Mills eventually picked himself up and walked across the finish line. But the 25-year-old wasn’t able to hide his anger as he squared up to Hay and pushed his rival in the chest as he made his views perfectly clear.

The Frenchman attempted to calm the situation and reason with Mills as he put his arm around the Briton.

But Mills was unwilling to make peace with the 27-year-old as he took Hay’s hand away and stormed off.

Former women’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe was unwilling to offer her sympathy to Mills in the aftermath of the incident as she told the BBC: “There’s a lot to look back at, a lot to tidy up and decide whose fault it was.

“If you decide to jog that slightly, it’s kind of your own fault. You end up with all of those falls. When there are that many people around I’m not sure you’re going to be able to say, ‘Somebody tripped me up’. There are too many men in there because nobody took it on.”

And ex-Great Britain 400m runner Allison Curbishley explained on Radio 5 Live: “George Mills has done this so many times, he doesn’t put himself in the best of positions. You are always going to get yourself caught up when there’s too many people.”

The heat was won by Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordas moments after the tumble, with Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet crossing the finishing line in second place ahead of Belgium’s John Heymans.

Mills was soon reinstated to race in the 5,000m semi-finals, with Olympic officials set to decide the final line-ups later on.

And 1984 Olympics 1500 metre silver medallist Steve Cram stated: “With the exception of Nordas, most of them have got themselves to blame. George was in a bad position from a long way out and should have checked out much earlier. George, from what I can see, did do a big push there on the home straight. It will be really interesting to see what they decide.”