CAEN: French hurdler Wilfried Happio, who was attacked 20 minutes prior to his race, won the national championship over the weekend despite donning an eyepatch. At the national championships in Caen, northern France, on Saturday, Happio, 23, was warming up for the men’s 400m hurdles final when he was ambushed and received multiple punches to the face. “A significant event occurred during the warm-up. Coach Olivier Vallaeys of Happio claimed, “Someone jumped on him and hit him.
He was suddenly confronted by a man who identified himself as Wilfried Happio before jumping on him. I was able to stop him. We were prepared to head to the call location with 20 minutes left before the race. We are stunned. Wilfried is well, and the man was detained. But I’m at a loss for words; it was outrageously aggressive. These are a savage’s techniques. Blood was pouring from Happio’s nose as he crossed the finish line in a new personal best time of 48.57 seconds to secure his spot on the French team for the world championships in Oregon next month. I don’t want to talk about the (assault) any longer, he stated.
I only had one eye, so the race was more challenging than usual. A guy had been detained in connection with the incident, according to the French Athletics Federation, and an investigation had started.
