Photographer Gets it Horribly Wrong at Track and Field Day
A photographer got his timing and positioning all wrong at a sports meeting in China and ended up interfering with the show.
The idea of covering these events is to document them and not become part of the story. But that is exactly what happened to this unfortunate photographer who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
During the opening ceremony of a sports meeting in Liaoning, China, the photographer rushed out onto the athletic track as a Chinese flag is run over a group of people who are in the “on your marks” position.
The photographer is trying to get a shot of the athletes as the flag covers them. So he runs onto the track and positions himself directly in front of them.
As the giant communist flag approaches, the photographer ducks so as not to get hit by it. But as he does so, a whistle blows which sets off the runners — and he is still crouching directly in their path just a few feet in front of them.
The runner at the front of the pack sets off in a blaze and immediately clatters into him, sending both of them to the floor as gasps emanate from the crowd. Pandemonium then ensues as more runners become entangled and the photographer is seemingly trampled.
It is unclear exactly what happened to the photographer. Hopefully he avoided injury and his gear came out unscathed. It is something of an occupational hazard for sports photographers, especially those covering track and field events.
Just last year at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, a cameraman disturbed a 5,000-meter run after wandering into the middle of the pack during a race. After the race, some of the athletes criticized the camera operator calling him “amateurish.”
Explain to me what was doing a stupid cameraman in the middle of the 5000 meter run????? @Olympics @juegosolimpicos @COGuatemalteco pic.twitter.com/55dA6ZOUDt
— PAHP (@herrerandres4) August 7, 2024
It is similar to an incident that took place at the World Athletics Championship a few years earlier when an absent-minded cameraman focusing on filming another event got in the way of a 3,000-meter steeplechase final.
