Australian runner Stewart McSweyn was caught up in the chaos of the men’s 5000m heats at the Paris Olympics, which saw crashes, tempers flare and a bizarre incident involving a rogue cameraman.
The event had already been hugely dramatic after four athletes, including British runner George Mills, son of former England footballer Danny, fell in the final straight during the first heat.
Mills was making good progress until he was involved in an altercation with Frenchman Hugo Hay and crashed, leaving the British star to confront Hay at the finish line after qualifying 18th.
Australian rider Stewart McSweyn managed to avoid the chaos and stay upright, but still failed to qualify.
However, he has appealed the result because the drama held him back and the jury has allowed him to run the final on Sunday morning (AEDT).
“The Olympic final is on Saturday night,” McSweyn posted on social media after the news broke.
Meanwhile, in the second heat, things took a strange turn as a group of riders headed into the final four laps.
As the athletes rounded the curve onto the straightaway, a rogue cameraman walked across the track toward the edge, unaware that he was interrupting the race.
Australian runner Stewart McSweyn (pictured above, in green and gold) won his appeal to compete in the 5000m final after a chaotic crash during his heat.
Several riders fell to the ground in the final stretch during the first heat and the shocking scenes prevented the Australian from setting the time he is capable of.
He seemed completely surprised as competitors ran past him and almost collided with him in dangerous scenes.
The cameraman, who was carrying his filming equipment, fortunately realised his mistake and avoided causing a damaging crash on the track, forcing many athletes to swerve to avoid it.
Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen was one of several runners who became enraged by gesturing towards a cameraman who was running past.
“It’s an amateur thing,” Ingebrigtsen said later. “That shouldn’t happen at the Olympics.”
“He was far enough ahead to see something was going on. He has a pretty big camera crew. He figured it out pretty quickly, but the damage is done. For some, the race is ruined.”
During the bizarre incident, it appeared as if the cameraman was focusing on the women’s javelin qualification, which was taking place at the same time, and it turned out to be another major mistake by the organisers of the Paris Olympics.
The Australian star appealed the result due to the massacre and the jury has allowed him to compete in the final on Sunday morning.
The 5000m heats at the Olympics suffered further disruptions when a cameraman interrupted a race.
Ingebrigtsen won the series, while Ethiopian Biniam Mehary and Belgian Isaac Kimeli completed the top three as only one rider crashed out of the race.
In the previous series, where Mills was one of four men to go down following a collision, the British team star was pitted against Frenchman Hay at the finish line.
The pair were seen arguing and making physical contact, with Mills angrily pointing at Hay and he expressed his anger when speaking to the BBC shortly afterwards.
“I think it’s pretty clear,” he said. “I got stepped on as I was about to kick down the stretch and boom, the French guy took me down.”
Asked what he said when confronted by Hay: “I probably won’t be allowed to say it.”
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Asked if he had spoken to officials, he said: “I haven’t seen anyone but I’m pretty sure BA (British Athletics) will be there to lodge an appeal, I hope.”
‘From my perspective, that was the perfect qualifying for me, to cover the first 2km in six minutes.
“I thought, ‘Nobody in this field can get away from me at this pace,’ so I just sat there waiting, waiting for the right moment to kick off the final stretch and then, bang!, I hit the ground. What can you do?’
Mills subsequently won his appeal and was granted a place in the 5000m final.
