Hurdler Chris Robinson experienced an embarrassing wardrobe mishap at the Golden Spike event in Ostrava. Yet impressively, the 24-year-old still clinched victory in the race, despite his private parts making an unexpected appearance with 250m remaining.

While 200m sprint sensation Gout Gout was making waves in Ostrava due to his remarkable speed, fellow track star Robinson inadvertently stole the limelight following a kit malfunction during the 400m hurdles competition. The American athlete, who is a 4x400m hurdles world champion after securing a gold medal at the World Athletics Relays in May, was aiming to add another accolade to his collection in Czechia on Tuesday. Robinson had a strong start and began gaining on his competitors on the back straight when his manhood started causing a distraction.

Throughout the race, the 24-year-old could be seen repeatedly adjusting his shorts in an attempt to rectify the issue while maintaining his competitive pace. Despite colliding with the final hurdle and continuing to adjust his shorts even in the last few metres of the race, Robinson managed a forward lunge to secure victory in the event with an impressive time of 48.05, considering the predicament he found himself in.

After crossing the finish line first, Robinson lay on the ground, casting a sheepish glance at his competitors, aware that his race had been overshadowed by an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction. Broadcasters covering the Golden Spike event were compelled to apologise to the millions of viewers who had tuned in to watch the action unfold at the Metsky Stadium.

Robinson’s victory took an embarrassing turn when the broadcast replayed his win, showing a close-up, front-on angle of the final 50m that left little to the imagination. “That’s a brilliant run by the American to be constantly adjusting certain parts of his equipment and possibly his anatomy down the home straight there around that top bend there,” remarked World Athletics commentator Tim Hutchings post-race.

“He hit that ninth hurdle hard. He was having an equipment failure there. I think that is probably the politest way to put it. There hasn’t been time to censor them, but well done to Chris Robinson for battling a problem that does emerge occasionally.

“Perhaps in a race every two or three years you see scenes like this from men and women with parts of their equipment failing,” he continued. “It can make it very, very awkward, but that was a stunning effort to stay out in front with all that going on.”

In other news from Czechia, 17-year-old Australian Gout broke his own national 200m record with an impressive 20.02. Post-race, he confidently stated that breaking the 20-second barrier was on the horizon.

Meanwhile, pole-vaulting icon Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis aimed for a new world record height of 6.29 metres. The current world record holder and Olympic gold medallist, who had recently surpassed his own record with a 6.28m jump, failed to set a new benchmark, only managing to clear 6.13m.