Wilfried Happio won the 400m hurdles at the French Championships and secured his place at the World Championships. And he did it with his left eye closed

Wilfrid Happio is a name that doesn’t say much to someone who doesn’t follow international athletics deeply. On Saturday, the Frenchman returned to what he does best by winning the 400m hurdles. It was at the French National Championships where he added a new personal best (48.57) to qualify for the World Championships in Eugene (USA).

Of course, none of this would be news outside of France if it weren’t for the pre-competition highlights that were only known yesterday: the 23-year-old, U20 and U23 European Champion. , was attacked during the pre-race warm-up (in the restricted area) and, as if that weren’t enough, he ran blindfolded over his left eye as a result of the attack.

According to his coach, the author was a guy who came “out of nowhere” 20 minutes before the final and punched him in the eye. by the police, allegedly the brother of Happio’s friend.

After the race, Wilfried Happio went to the hospital and filed a complaint yesterday, as did the French Athletics Federation (FFA), whose president also mentioned the case yesterday, helping to add to the confusion in the case by denying any responsibility. “Safety was guaranteed, as in all competitions. An unfortunate event has occurred and we will know how to accept the appropriate consequences, but this is not the fault of the federation,” began André Giraud, comparing: “We live in a particular society, I would say that every day, every weekend, the worst manifestations occur on the football fields aggression than this.

Benfica’s victory over Porto (5:3) in the fourth match of the final of the national roller hockey championship caused some criticism of the refereeing from the Dragons. After manager Ricardo Ares expressed disbelief that the Eagles had two fouls in 30 minutes, it was Francisco J. Marquez’s turn to use social media to reflect on opponents.

“The roller hockey championship will decide in the black on Wednesday night, but Benfica began to interfere in the decisive game as soon as the fourth leg was over, with the traditional inversion of the truth, taking advantage of very good refereeing. . Ricardo Ares [treinador do FC Porto] did not comment on the actions of the referee, limiting himself to stating that in 30 minutes Benfica had only two fouls, which would be surprising in a friendly game, not to mention a tense playoff match. In the 16th minute the foul score was 8-8, a natural balance in line with the history of the games between the two teams and even in harmony with the balance between the championship finalists. From that moment on, the whistle was blown at Porto and released at Benfica. Porto were winning 1-0 and the foul streak started for only one side, with Benfica taking advantage of the 10th foul to equalize. A new advantage for our team and a few more fouls for Benfica, who drew from a free kick on the 15th foul. At the 15th minute of the game the score was 7-0 on fouls, after 8-8 of the first 16 minutes. Until 21 minutes later, the ninth foul of Benfica followed, when the score was already 4-2. Only those who have never seen a hockey game might find it normal.”

The PR director of FC Porto also spoke about the situation that happened at half-time at the Pavillão da Luz stadium, when Luis Senica, President of the Portuguese Skating Federation, was forced to leave the President’s podium after the fans heated up.

“Speaking of watching hockey games, Luis Senica, the president of the figure skating federation, can come to the Dragao Arena to watch the decisive game because he will not be mistreated or harassed. Our fans, as usual, will support the team unsurpassed,” he concluded.