The national championships in athletics were also held in France at the weekend. A scandal broke out before a race.
At the French Athletics Championships in Caen, hurdler Wilfried Happio was attacked by a stranger shortly before his race and injured his face.
As the sports newspaper “L’Équipe” reported, the 23-year-old was attacked by an unknown person on Saturday while warming up for the final over 400 meters hurdles around 20 minutes before the start.
His coach Olivier Vallaeys was able to overpower the attacker. He told AFP: “We are in shock, the guy was arrested, Wilfried is doing well, but I have no words, it was pure aggression, it’s a scandal, these are savage methods.”
Despite the incident, Happio ran to victory with a patch on his left eye and a headband pulled over it. He even broke the norm for the World Championships from July 15th to 24th in Eugene/USA.