Victory at any cost – that is one of several explanations for a French marathon runner's behaviour on the last day of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, when he knocked over an entire row of water bottles at a rehydration centre on the track. But alas, there is no telling at this point what drove Morhad Amdouni to deprive his competitors of a refreshing bit of water in the scorching 27-degree Celsius heat in Sapporo.
A video of the incident has surfaced online, showing how Amdouni reaches out with his arm and knocks over the closer of two rows of bottles, only to grab the last bottle for himself. Was it an act of clumsiness or calculated sabotage to prevent other runners from catching up to him?
Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Athletics - Men's 10000m - OLS - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - July 30, 2021. Morhad Amdouni of France reacts after competing in the final REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
© REUTERS / LUCY NICHOLSON
If it was the latter, then this tactic hardly worked – the 33-year-old athlete from France finished 17th in the end. Although he did receive one "gold medal" that day – British TV personality Piers Morgan awarded him one for not being the kindest person at this year's Olympics.
"The Gold medal for biggest d**khead of the Tokyo Olympics goes to French marathon runner Morhad Amdouni who deliberately knocks over all the water for his fellow competitors…Unbelievable!" Morgan tweeted.
The marathon itself was won by Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya, who defended his title as champion that won in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.