Wilfried Happio attacked viciously minutes before he wins the 400m hurdles race
Impressively, a French athlete did not allow a savage assault to prevent him from winning the championship. Despite his injuries, he not only took part in the race but also finished first. At the French national meet, which took place in Caen on Saturday evening, June 25, Wilfried Happio reportedly was being attacked by an unidentified individual as he warmed up before the 400-meter hurdles final.
According to reports, the assailant got past the security and got Happio, a 23-year-old hurdler, to confirm that he was the man he was after before repeatedly striking him in the face. The athlete was shielded from the onslaught of blows by his coach Olivier Vallaeys, who stepped in. Police eventually took the attacker into custody. According to reports, the incident took place about 20 minutes before the competition began.
According to accounts, Happio suffered numerous wounds and injuries as a result of the attack. Blood was also visible coming from his cough. However, the young man did not let that stop him from running, and he miraculously won the race as well. Before winning the competition, he reportedly ran with an eye bandaged over, recording a time of 48.57 as he sprinted across the finish line.
After the competition, Happio spoke about the attack as well as his victory. He said, “I don’t want to dwell on it. We’ll leave that to the competent people. To talk about the race, we worked a lot, we redid the music and that’s it. The feelings were good. I’m glad I did this time. Physically I’m fine.”
His coach Vallaeys added, “There was a big incident during the warm-up. Someone jumped on him and hit him. A guy who came from nowhere asked him if it was really him, Wilfried Happio, and threw himself on him. I belted it. It was 20 minutes before the race, we were ready to go to the call room. We’re in shock. The guy was arrested. Wilfried is fine. But I’m speechless, it’s a mess. Sheer aggression. It’s outrageous. These are savage methods.”