Cameraman almost causes disastrous incident in Olympic race as BBC commentator says 'are you crazy?'

A cameraman almost caused an almighty collision in the 5000m second heat at the Olympics on Wednesday.

After failing to make the podium in the 1500m final, Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the heat - following up his compatriot Narve Gilje Nordas coming first in the first heat.

He did it with an impressive time of 13:51.59 and set up an exciting final on Saturday.

But the race was very nearly plunged into absolutely chaos courtesy of a rogue camera operator.

Ten minutes into the contest, a cameraman casually strolled across the track while the runners were coming around the bend.

He had been near the javelin area when he began to walk over in scenes reminiscent to someone crossing the road without looking.

The athletes came over at a rapid pace and it was a miracle that no-one crashed into him.

He just managed to stop himself just in time, though other runners did have to run around him slightly.

Commentators on BBC's coverage of the race were stunned at the near-incident, with Steve Cram commenting: "Ingebrigtsen signals to say, 'Are you crazy?'".

⚠️ Watch out! Cameraman about! 🎥#Olympics #Paris2024 #BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/oXvA2GWB3S

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 7, 2024

It was a lucky escape for all involved but the previous heat went a different way.

Team GB's George Mills ended up finishing second to last in his heat but only following a collision which saw four runners hit the deck.

He looked to be nudged by France's Hugo Hay on the home straight and it resulted in a domino effect.

Mills was left furious and vented to Hay in an apparent x-rated rent afterwards.

Though Hay disputed any intent, Mills did an interview with the BBC and gave his version of events.

He said: "I don't know if you guys could see it on the TV. Look, I wouldn't go for a gap if it wasn't there. That would be a pretty dumb strategy...I pulled onto the outside and there was space.

"I got stepped out on...then boom, the French lad took me down!".

After lodging an appeal, he advanced to the final following a review from the video referee.