2012 London Summer Olympics

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A day after a man was arrested for throwing a plastic bottle moments before the blue ribbon event of Olympic Games -- the 100m -- was scheduled to start, the London Olympic Games Organizing Committee (LOGOC) strongly condemned the unpleasant incident and said zero tolerance shall be maintained in such incidents.

With the world's eyes glued to the track to witness the famous rivalry between Usain Bolt and his teammate Yohan Blake, a man who had been shouting invectives at the fastest man on earth, suddenly got up and threw a bottle on the track. The bottle fell just behind the starting blocks even as the starter had told the runners to "set".

A Dutchwoman, a black belt in judo, acted swiftly, slapping the mischief-monger with all her force before he was ejected from the stadium by the police.

LOGOC chief, Sebastian Coe, condemned the incident and said that a "zero tolerance" policy was in place for those contemplating such misdemeanors in future. The legendary British distance runner said in a statement soon after that, "Throwing a bottle on to the field of play is unacceptable … the LOGOC will maintain zero tolerance for such incidents."

Then in a lighter vein, he said that it was "poetic justice" that a judoka was seated next to the perpetrator of the crime.

It was a miracle that the incident didn't disrupt the event or distract the athletes, and Bolt went on to erase the Olympic mark with an inspired 9:63sec run, leaving Blake too far behind.

The man, identified as Ashley Gill-Webb (34), was charged with a public order offense and put in custody. A senior police officer, who produced him before the Stratford Magistrates Court, was quoted as saying that Gill-Webb had been charged with "intentionally causing harassment, alarm and distress".

Another officer said that the green plastic bottle had landed barely a few meters behind Yohan Blake, who was racing in lane five. TV footage showed the bottle clearly bouncing onto the track behind the runners.

 

Police in London said they've arrested a man for throwing a plastic bottle before the start of Sunday night's 100M race, on suspicion of causing a public nuisance. The runners, including Usain Bolt, said the incident didn't affect them

 

 

Man Nabbed For Bottle Toss on Olympic Track Just Before 100M