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Who is Wilfried Happio? Athlete attacked viciously minutes BEFORE he wins 400m hurdles race

Happio was punched multiple times in the face by an unidentified assailant just 20 minutes before the race began and was coughing up blood

A French athlete has impressively not let a vicious attack come in the way of his championship win. He not only participated despite his injuries, but also won the race. Wilfried Happio was reportedly warming up before the 400m hurdles championship at the French national meet that happened in Caen on Saturday evening, June 25, when he was assaulted by an unidentified man.

It has been said that the attacker bypassed the security and confirmed from Happio himself that he’s was the 23-year-old hurdler he was targetting before punching him multiple times in the face. His coach Olivier Vallaeys intervened to save the athlete from the rain of blows. Eventually, the attacker was arrested by police. The incident apparently happened just 20 minutes before the competition started.

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As per reports, the attack left Happio with a number of wounds and injuries. He was also seen coughing up blood. But the young man did not let that hamper his run as he took to the track and amazingly won the race too. He reportedly ran with an eye bandaged over before winning the championship, clocking in at 48.57 as he burst through 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.”

The shocking incident has grabbed a lot of eyeballs on the Internet but people have also praised Happio for his win and dedication. A user tweeted in French: “There are more and more mentally ill people walking around France with impunity.... I would like to see Paris and its wonders again but I no longer feel safe in France…” The second one said, “48.57DamnFire!!” “Magnificent example of what is resistance and concentration!!!!! 20 minutes after an attack the guy created the feat!!!!! Congratulations Champion!!!!!!” the third one wrote.

A tweet read: “Well done champ! And a good lesson for the loser who assaulted you, thinking he was stopping you from racing... Hats off to you, and mentally you proved that you were very, very strong!” Another tweet stated: “Wilfried Happio's top-10 performances over 400hurdles were all between 49.01 and 49.28, but this is now a thing for the past... 48.57 WORLD Q & PB to win the Nationals!!! 🇫🇷🔥.” “What a story for Wilfried Happio... Violently attacked during his warm-up, the runner from Lille Métropole Athlétisme became French champion in the 400 m hurdles half an hour later 🥇 With a personal best and the minima for the Eugene Worlds,” a comment added.