ANGRY George Mills blasted officials for not restarting his race when he fell over, raging: It’s a joke.
Mills – the son of ex-England full-back Danny Mills – was sent tumbling to the track after just 30 metres of the Emsley Carr Mile.
The Yorkshireman, 25, crashed into the tumbling Brit Neil Gourley, who had been brought down by mistake by the tripped Dutchman Niels Laros.
Both runners argued with staff trackside, saying that the contest should have been stopped there and then due to the episode.
Their pleas for a re-run were ignored as Australian Oliver Hoare claimed victory in the 17-man contest in a time of 3:49.03.
Mills fumed: “It’s absolutely f***ing ridiculous”.
“It was outrageous. We fell down inside 30 metres. Me and Neil.
“Literally just before we even turned, there was a fall in front of us and we both tripped over.
“I have experienced that before, but I don’t know how they didn’t restart it.
“I don’t know how they don’t call it back.
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“Well, three people go down inside 30 metres, what’s the point? It’s a joke.”
The controversy came with the Olympics opening ceremony just six days away.
But Scotsman Gourley, 29, was more philosophical about the situation, saying: “I wasn’t really bothered by time or anything like that.
“I just wanted to come here and test the racing side of things but we fell.
“That’s not exactly what I needed. But I’ve got momentum from my other recent races.”
