French Olympic runner ‘knocking over’ opponents’ water sparks heated online debate

Morhad Amdouni, 33, was filmed knocking over an entire row of water bottles in the second half of the 26-mile race when temperatures rocketed to 28C. The French marathon runner grabbed the last bottle on the table leaving nothing on the table of the hydration station for runners behind him. Mr Amdouni finished the race in 17th place.

Footage of the moment has divided opinion on Twitter as to whether or not the move was intentional.

One wrote: “Run an Olympic marathon in 30-degree heat and see how your hand/ eye coordination is going at 30 km.”

Another added: “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. The benefit of the doubt, it was an accident.”

A third person said: “No chance it was an accident. He very deliberately runs his hand along the table knocking over bottles for several seconds with no attempt to take one.”

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Mr Amdouni later defended himself by explaining on Twitter what happened: “To put an end to all the controversy from the video, I show this video to actually understand what happened.

“To guarantee freshness to the bottles, they are soaked in water, which makes them slippery. However, it is clear that I am trying to get one from the beginning of the row but they slip as soon as we touch them.

The Tokyo Olympics have come to a close with Team GB putting in one of its best-ever performances.

The 65-medal haul in Japan matched the number earned at Team GB’s home Olympics in London in 2012 and is only two short of the record Rio total in 2016.

There were 22 gold medals won – the fourth-best performance ever by a British team.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the nation’s successful Olympians have demonstrated “there is no limit to what we can achieve”, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said the athletes have shown “strength, passion and determination”.

“The amount of people who came up to me afterward and were like ‘I’d have counted him out of this’ – and to be honest, so had I!” she told BBC Sport.

“I was speaking to him last night and he was like, ‘I just want to go home’. Then obviously he won – just typical Jason, that.”

Laura, who clinched gold with Katie Archibald in the madison, was chosen to carry Team GB’s flag at the closing ceremony, which she described as “an absolute honour”.

Laura said: “The past 18 months have been tough for everyone, and I really hope me and my Team GB teammates have given the nation something to celebrate.

“It hasn’t quite sunk in that I am now Britain’s most successful female athlete, all I know is that I’ve worked so hard to be here and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family, friends, and everyone at British Cycling.”