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The Thanksgiving Day incident occurred Thursday, Nov. 24, in Rensselaer County, at the Troy Turkey Trot 10K race in Troy.
Video posted on Twitter shows Xavier Salvador, of Washington, DC, and Jack Huber, of Delmar, vying hard for 4th place as they approach the finish line.
The pair are seen nearly shoulder to shoulder as they near the end of the race, when Salvador suddenly veers to his right, colliding with Huber, who had tried to pass on the same side.
Both men then fall to the ground, with Huber slamming hard into a metal barrier before crashing into a photographer’s legs.
“Oh sh...,” the announcer can be heard, nearly letting out an expletive. “Oh!”
Huber suffered scrapes and road rash on his shoulder and hands, along with bruises on his right knee and forearms, while Salvador was left with a swollen wrist, sore ribs, and some scrapes, according to the Albany Times Union.
The now-viral video had racked up more than 555,000 views as of Saturday, Nov. 26.
Footage of the collision, along with witness accounts, was later reviewed by race organizers, who disqualified Salvador for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“The Troy Turkey Trot has determined that Xaviar Salvador (Bib 707) violated USATF Rule 163 as he and Jack Huber (Bib 957) competed for 4th and 5th place in the 10K at the 75th running of the Troy Turkey Trot,” organizers posted on Facebook Friday, Nov. 25.
“Salvador has since been disqualified from the event.”
Accompanying the post was a revised results list showing Huber in 4th place at 31 minutes and 47 seconds.
Race referee and Troy Turkey Trot coordinator, George Regan, told the Times Union he witnessed the entire incident and can’t remember anything similar happening in the race’s history.
“(Huber) was on the river side of the fourth-place runner and I just watched in dismay and horror because the kid could see him in his peripheral vision and kept creeping to the right and wouldn’t let him by,” Regan told the outlet.
Salvador told the Times Union he didn’t see Huber coming up on his right side and only veered to his right in order to avoid a manhole cover.
“I feel really bad about it … I never had an intention to hurt him, tackle him,” he told the outlet. “I didn’t realize he was on my right shoulder and I’m sprinting as hard as I can.”
Despite Salvador’s insistence it was an accident, social media has been flooded with people who beg to differ.
“The runners finishing ahead of him didn’t seem to have a problem with the manhole cover,” Chris Furnani said on Twitter.
“That’s one of the most unsportsmanlike moves I’ve ever seen in any amateur sports event,” Dave Aiello added.
“Should be banned from racing,” Ian Corless said. “What a tosser.”
Salvador told the Times Union he will not appeal his disqualification.
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