Triathletes dive into the water at the start of the men's triathlon during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Boat disrupts start of Olympic triathlon competition

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 7/26/21

A terrifying scene unfolded at the start of the men’s triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, and it was fortunate that no one was injured.

Half the field dove into the water when the starting gun sounded, but the other half was blocked by a television boat. The boat quickly reversed out of the way and luckily avoided driving over any of the athletes. You can see the video below:

An absolutely WILD start to the men's triathlon.

A TV boat with twin outboard motors was sitting in the way as the starting gun was fired, then tried to reverse out as the athletes dove into the water.

It caused a race restart, but luckily no one was injured. pic.twitter.com/TKkPbaWNSK

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 25, 2021

As you might expect, there was a great deal of confusion following the incident. Boats and jet skis began driving toward the athletes to make sure there were no injuries and everyone could get back to the starting point. Eventually, all 56 athletes took their positions again for a restart.

Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt won the race. It’s safe to say it was one that neither he nor the rest of the competitors will ever forget.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: