Team GB's George Mills clashes with French rival after five-man collision during 5,000m heat

There was fury at the finish line of one of the 5,000 metres heats at the Olympics today, as ITV News Sports Editor Steve Scott reports

Team GB's George Mills found himself in a heated altercation with France’s Hugo Hay after the Briton was involved in a collision in his 5,000m heat.

Hay remained upright after multiple men, including Mills, tumbled down the home straight in on the final lap and the Frenchmen was able to qualify for Saturday’s final.

It left Mills - who is the son of former Leeds and England full-back Danny Mills - in 18th place.

After the men had crossed the finish line, Mills and Hay were seen arguing and making physical contact, Mills pointing furiously at Hay.

It looked as though Mills would not automatically qualify for the final - as he did not finish in the top eight.

But British Athletics (BA) said in a post to X that Mills has been advanced to Saturday's final, following a ruling by the race referee.

After the event, Mills described how he was where he wanted to be in the final lap, "tucked in on the inside" and waiting for a gap to open up.

"It did and I was ready to put my foot down and all of a sudden, boom, I hit the deck," he explained.

"I was ready to go. If we look at the top pace of the race, it was playing into a 1,500m guys hands, so that was my plan.

"Get around the whole race, sit in and don’t waste any energy, get into the last 100m, doesn’t matter if you are 10th or 12th, you will be able to come past.

"We executed that to the point, and I was ready to execute that last little bit, but that got taken out of my control unfortunately."

The Refugee team's Dominic Lobalu, Mike Foppen of the Netherlands and Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain - who were also hindered by the collision - have been advanced by the race's referee.

In the following 5,000m heat, a close-call with a cameraman forced runners out of line.

About ten minutes into the race, as the running pack turned a corner, they were forced to run around a cameraman who was stood in the second lane facing the other way.

It looked as though he was obliviously walking across the track and was unaware the runners were so close to him, as he jolts back a bit when the first runners pass him.

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