The Men's Triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics had a do-over after a chaotic false start on Monday. The 56 athletes got into starting position, but only half were able to dive into the water after the start buzzer went off. The other half were stuck on the dock, forced to wait after a media boat suddenly barreled in front of them, blocking their way.
"Goodness me, the rib is reversing out of the way just as the athletes dive in," a live news commentator said (in video below). "It is a false start. This is a shambles."
From AP:
It took about 13 seconds before the buzzer sounded again signaling a false start, but not everyone heard it and some kept swimming, sending Olympic support staffers to chase them down with personal watercraft. Some of the initial leaders were 200 meters out before they eventually stopped swimming and came back.
And from 7News.com.au:
Many of the swimmers didn't realise what had happened as their fellow triathletes were left behind.
"This is an absolute disaster. This is not what you want to happen, to waste a lot of your energy off that start and then to have to go back and do it all over again," former ironwoman and commentator Candice Warner added.
"I just can't believe something like that could happen at an Olympic Games."
The race safely got underway about 10 minutes later. …
Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt won gold in 1:45.04, just 11 seconds ahead of Great Britain's Alex Yee while New Zealand's Hayden Wilde finished nine seconds further back to win bronze.
