Morhad Amdouni sparks debate after knocking water bottles in men's Olympic marathon
French runner, Morhad Amdouni, sparked a debate on social media after a video appears to show him knocking over multiple water bottles in the men's Olympic marathon.
Amdouni crossed the line in 17th place, with a time of 2:14:33.
With temperatures hovering at around 30 degrees Celsius and humidity levels of over 80 percent, the conditions were tough for the men's Olympic marathon.
Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya broke the pack and ran solo the rest of the way to repeat as Olympic marathon champion, finishing in 2:08:38. Out of the 105 runners, only 74 finished, with runners struggling with the conditions on the course.
Yet one moment that has sparked debate is French runner Morhad Amdouni, who appears to knock over multiple water bottles at the aid station approaching the 28-kilometre mark. Officials could be seen trying to stop bottles from toppling as the runner passed.
Australian long-distance runner Ben St Lawrence tweeted, 'Thoughts on Amdouni knocking over an entire row of water before taking the last one?'
Thoughts on Amdouni knocking over an entire row of water before taking the last one? pic.twitter.com/qrPaSzxLBW
— Ben St Lawrence (@bennysaint) August 8, 2021
Others slammed Amdouni's actions saying it was the 'lowest thing' they'd ever seen at the Olympics.
Yet others jumped to the French runner's defence, saying it was accidental and that he must have been disorientated at this stage in such a warm marathon and that there was another water station shortly up the road. One runner tweeted, 'He's not next to the table. He's having to bend and stretch whilst running at speed. He's sandwiched between other runners. No doubt absolutely knackered by the heat & humidity. Benefit of the doubt, it was an accident.'
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