Everything is getting underway for this year’s celebrations, which will end on Sunday, August 11. Some controversy has already surfaced, as has happened at every Olympic Games in the past.
The boxing bout between Angela Carini of Italy and Imane Khelif of Algeria, which took place today (August 1), has been a hot issue as of late.
Khelif was permitted to compete in last year’s Olympics despite being disqualified from the boxing tournament due to elevated testosterone levels.
Unfortunately, her bout with Carini didn’t go long since the Italian boxer stopped fighting at 46 seconds into the bout.
During their brief time in the ring, Carini allegedly shattered her nose. Alright, enough with the boxing. Some Olympic fans have accused the men’s 20km walk competition participants of cheating.
#GOLD! 🇪🇨
Brian Daniel Pintado takes the first medal on Day 6, earning the win for Ecuador in the men’s 20km race walk.
It’s their first gold of the Games, and their fourth ever in Olympic history. 🎉@ECUADORolimpico | @WorldAthletics | #Athletics | #Paris2024 | #Samsung |… pic.twitter.com/FHVce1Nstq
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 1, 2024
When competing in such competitions, athletes must adhere to a set of rigorous regulations. At all times,
competitors in the 20-kilometer race walk must have at least one foot firmly planted on the ground, according to World Athletics. Lifting is the result of not doing this.
“Added to this, the athlete’s advancing leg must straighten from the point it touches the ground until it passes under the body – this differentiates the discipline from running.”
Images captured in slow motion during today’s race give the impression that a few competitors had their feet up simultaneously.
https://www.reddit.com/?utm_source=embedv2&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_content=header&embed_host_url=https://www.unilad.com/news/sport/olympics-walk-race-cheating-771754-20240801
Someone discovered that every single walker is ‘cheating’ while watching the men’s 20km walk and shared the film on Reddit. Does the sport provide for a lot of flexibility?”
Someone other added, “I’m watching this sh*t right now as well and it makes NO SENSE.” to the thread. Every single one of them is jogging or running.
“Odd jogging should be the new Olympic walking,” someone another said. I realized after half an hour that this was a walking competition,
not a running one,” another commenter said. So long as everyone else is cheating, I suppose it’s safe to say that I won’t get caught.
Some, however, maintained that slow-motion footage had no place in evaluating the criteria that the athletes must adhere to.
“It has to be discernable to the naked eye, not in a slowed down video,” a witness said. “It is legal to have both feet off the ground within that very narrow margin.”
