Strange incident in the 2022 World Cup final. A cameraman jumped onto the track in front of the runners
Athletes had to overcome one obstacle more than usual.
An extra obstacle
For fans of athletics, it is customary that competitions in all types at the stadium are held in parallel. This usually does not pose much of a problem, except that viewers have to get used to the constant switching of the broadcast. But at the 2022 World Championships, this approach nearly derailed the men’s 3000m hurdles final.
Steeplechase is quite an interesting discipline, although it is not very popular with spectators compared to many other types of athletics competitions. Usually, athletes have to overcome a series of obstacles along the course – barriers and ditches with water.
However, the final race was nearly canceled due to the tradition of athletics competitions. At the very beginning of the race, an extra obstacle appeared on the track in the form of an operator. The man who filmed the women’s triple jump did not notice how he was in the way of the athletes. And, it seems, until the athletes rounded him, he did not understand where he was. The participants of the final were not at a loss, the group carefully rounded the operator and continued the race without any problems. The man, seeing that he had made a mistake, quickly left the track, returning to a special area for television people.
The operator was in the running sector. Athletes had to overcome one obstacle more
Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
“What is this…”
The remainder of the final passed without incident. The athletes went on equal terms, and the Moroccan Sufyan El-Bakkali pulled out the victory in the last meters of the distance, overcoming the distance in 8 minutes and 25 seconds. The second was the Ethiopian Lameha Girma, who spent a second more. The top three winners were closed by the Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto with a result of 8 minutes and 27 seconds. Due to an incident with the operator, the results of the race were not cancelled.
Despite the successful outcome, the athletes admitted that the situation with the release of the operator on the track turned out to be quite stressful for them.
“I was a little worried that the operator would rush in one way or another at the last second,” said American Evan Jaeger, who finished sixth. “But luckily he didn’t realize we were there until we all ran past.”
The situation was also unusual for the commentators of the tournament. So, in social networks, the silver medalist of the 2007 World Cup, Kara Gutscher, who commented on the race live on NBC Sport, was separately praised.
“What is this…?! Hats off to Kara Gutscher for not losing her temper on live TV when the cameraman was 29th hurdle in the men’s final!” – wrote the famous runner Sally Bergesen.
Undoubtedly, the operator also experienced stress, who almost broke the final. It’s even interesting how this story ended for him, in addition to experiences.
