“Private security reacted very well”: why the start of the men's 100 meters at the Paris 2024 Olympics was delayed at the Stade de France ?

The start of the 100 meters was delayed this Sunday. MAXPPP – ANNA SZILAGYI

The president of the Olympic Organizing Committee (Cojo) Tony Estanguet explained Monday that the delay in the start of the men's 100 meters of the 2024 Olympic Games, Sunday evening, was due to "an attempted intrusion" on the athletics track of the Stade de France.

“There was an attempted intrusion (Sunday) on the 100-meter final. Private security responded very well right away. People are prepared, they are rigorous, they are professionals and the police are doing a remarkable job,”, declared Tony Estanguet, in Châteauroux, on the shooting event site.

The 100-meter competitors waited several minutes

The president of the Cojo did not specify the circumstances of the intrusion. Several media outlets have relayed images posted on social networks showing a man pinned to the ground near the track by security personnel, before being evacuated from the stadium.

The 100-meter competitors waited several minutes in front of their running lane, before being invited to take their places in the starting blocks. “We're talking about 4 minutes, but what I told me, it was more like a minute and a half, stressed Tony Estanguet. On the scale of an event, the last event of the evening, it's not so serious. I think that the international federation (of athletics) […] is the one that decides whether or not to give the starting signal for the events when all the conditions are met. They waited until everyone was ready to launch this 100 meters".

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American Noah Lyles, winner of the main athletics event, said he saw nothing of the incident.