One of the 110m hurdle heats at the Paris Olympics was marred by chaos after the crowd was left frustrated by three false starts.
Athletes from across the globe had descended on the Stade de France for Day Five of the athletics programme at this year’s Games.
One of the events on the morning schedule was the 110m hurdle repechages, with heat two disrupted from the off after David Yefremov left the blocks too early.
The Khazakstan runner was immediately disqualified from the race, with replays showing Yefremov had lifted his foot off the starting block well before the gun had been fired.
Legendary runner turn BBC commentator Steve Cram was quick to empathise with Yefremov, saying: “If I was him… Rafael Pereira [the runner next to him] took ages to settle, just prolonging the whole starting process.
“I suggest he won’t get a hearing, but Pereira took forever.”
Pereira would go on to win the heat and progress into the next round, but it wasn’t before the race was met with even more controversy.
With Yefremov sidelined following his false start, the runners were once again disrupted in the blocks, this time because of a noise in the crowd.
Clearly disgruntled by the ongoing delays, Cram added: “Here we go again. That was the crowd this time, somebody is shouting.
“They [the crowd] have been pretty good ever since the first morning… but it is a new crowd everyday, most people have got one ticket for the athletics, morning or evening session.
“There is a note put on the big screen which says ‘Quiet please for the start’.”
But the drama wouldn’t end there, as for the third consecutive attempt the athletes were dealt a false start.
This time technology was to blame, as the gun which indicates the start of the race failed to go off.
Olympic silver medalist Colin Jackson, who was also on duty for BBC Sport, chimed in with: “This is just getting so frustrating. You can hear by the response of the crowd, that they’ve had enough.”
The crowd were indeed unhappy with what they were seeing, with audible boos and jeers picked up by the microphones inside the Stade de France.
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