French athlete Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, who was stripped of his 3,000m steeplechase gold medal for taking his vest off down the final straight and sticking it in his mouth, insists he has no regrets for his celebration despite his "immense sadness" at being disqualified.
Mekhissi-Benabbad, a keen supporter of Paris Saint-Germain, insists he was trying to make the crowd happy by performing a football goal celebration – and had no idea that he would be disqualified.
“Je ne regrette rien,” he said. “I did not know that I could be disqualified for such a thing. In every sports you can take your vest of, only in athletics you cannot. Yesterday I went from big joy to immense sadness.”
Mekhissi-Benabbad claimed he had not slept and spent most of the night crying trying to come to terms with what he called a “big deception”. Initially he received a yellow card for his actions “acting in an unsporting or improper manner”, but he was later disqualified after Spain, whose athletes finished fourth and fifth, made an official protest citing rules on “clothing, shoes and bibs”. It meant the Spanish athlete Angel Mullera, who failed a drugs test 11 months ago, was moved up to bronze.
French team coach Philippe Dupont told the Guardian he was furious with the Spanish decision to appeal. "I am very angry with the Spanish," he said. "It's not sport. He was crying into my arms after running the 1500m heats this morning and yesterday he cried all night too."
Mekhissi-Benabbad, meanwhile, says he wants to win a 1500m medal on Sunday to prove he is a true champion after qualifying third in Friday’s heats. “With 200m before the finish line I was not yet qualified, but I found my strength and power again to make the third place and qualify directly,” he said. “I am proud of that. The final will be in two days, so I have time to recover. My dream is to win a medal there. But first I have to manage the big deception of yesterday.”
Yoann Kowal, who was moved up to gold after Mekhissi-Benabbad's disqualification, said he sympathised with his compatriot. "What Mahiedine did with his vest was not disturbing or anything, nothing important."
Mekhissi-Benabbad has been involved in controversy in the past and was once suspended along with his team-mate Mehdi Baala after they traded blows following the 1,500m at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco. But Dupont insisted that Mekhissi-Benabbad was a popular member of his squad – and his actions on Thursday night were entirely harmless.
“I know Mahiedine,” he added. “He likes to give joy to the public. He likes football. He wanted to try and celebrate it like a goal celebration – there was no arrogance.”
Guardian Service
