False start in men's triathlon as media boat blocks competitors

Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt won gold in the men's triathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games following a bizarre false start which saw a media boat block about half of the competitors who were about to dive into the water to begin their swim.

The incident sparked mass confusion at the beginning of the event as the starting gun went off with the boat still right in front of the starting platform. The pilot then had to hastily reverse out of the way while race officials recalled those who had started their swim. "The starter's gun appeared to go off early while a boat carrying a camera crew was still in the start zone," reads an explanation posted on the Olympics' official blog.