Australian runner Olli Hoare has clarified that he did not witness a murder in Glasgow, contrary to earlier reports. Hoare, a reigning Commonwealth Games champion, was asked about the incident after competing in the heats of the men's mile on Wednesday, where he finished with bloodied knees after being tripped.
“No, no, I didn't see a murder,” Hoare said. “The murder that was reported was six miles away and also at a different time.”
Hoare and his teammate Ky Robinson were heckled while training, with at least one person shouting at them while holding a knife. As a result, the Australia team has been advised not to wear their kit in the city.
Misinterpretation of Events
It was initially thought the pair had witnessed the aftermath of the murder of Paul McMinigal in the east end of the city on Friday. “I don't know how that came about because Ky and I were running in the afternoon,” Hoare said. “We're running on the river. Somehow these Chinese whispers have come in.”
Hoare's friend Jake Wightman, a Scotland 1500m runner staying in the same hotel, said: “I am sure I am allowed to say it, he saw someone with a knife. That was it. And now they were saying he was in a murder scene. They're two stories put together. But we're joking that he ran out on the track with a stab-proof vest.”
Wightman added: “Glasgow is like any city. There's good and bad parts and you see some things you don't necessarily want to see. Unfortunately, he ran into the middle of that and I hope it didn't affect him.”
Hoare's Account
Hoare described the incident as a “police dispute” and downplayed the threat. “We came across a police dispute. There were people walking around saying things. But I was never threatened,” he said. “There was nothing heinous about what was happening. We were just running through, and there were some characters, and that was it.”
When asked whether individuals were carrying knives, Hoare said: “They looked like they were carrying something, but they weren't threatening us. There was police there. They were breaking up a dispute when Kai and I ran past and we didn't even think to report it.”
He also addressed why he did not wear team kit the next day: “I didn't wear the team uniform because I didn't want to bring attention to myself and I think particularly for the women running around, they're in a much more different position than I am. At that point I thought: 'Well, it's better to save the kit because I don't have a laundry machine.'”
Men's Mile Final
Despite the distractions, Hoare was reinstated by appeal into Saturday's final. He faces tough competition including world record-holder Josh Kerr, Australian star Cam Myers, and Wightman. Kerr won his heat in 3min 58.57sec and was confident: “It's going to be a war out there. It's the home crowd, it's our track, it's our crowd. The rest of the guys want to take what's ours. They will have to come with something on Saturday night because they are not going to get it easy.”
Kerr wore custom-made Brooks Hyperion 222 spikes used to break the mile world record, describing them as “a little bit overkill – like driving a Formula One car along the street for a cup of coffee.”
