FRENCH athlete Yohann Diniz was praised for his courage after suffering a series of unfortunate incidents during the 50km walk race at the Rio Olympics.

Around 15km into the race, a dark liquid started pouring down the back of the world record holder's legs causing speculation on Twitter that he had potentially soiled himself.

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4 Yohann Diniz battles through the 50km race Credit: EPA

4 World record holder still managed to finish eighth in a heroic effort Credit: Getty Images

Before the race French publication L'Equipe had reported that Diniz was suffering from stomach problems but was determined to race anyway.

And not long into the event it became clear that the athlete was suffering when blood started to pour down the hamstrings of Diniz who finished the race in eighth position.

The 38-year-old was leading the pack by a minute but had to stop soon after and clean himself up with a sponge and douse himself with water.

Around 35km into the event, Diniz, who was favourite for a medal, fainted to the ground but managed to get back up and still contend for a place on the podium.

Diniz was in obvious discomfort but was applauded by gathering fans as he decided to fight through the pain barrier and cross the finish line.

4 Diniz was praised for his courage in managing to finish the race Credit: Getty Images

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After the race it was reported that Diniz was immediately put in a wheelchair and taken to hospital for checkups.

It was a noble effort from the Frenchman with many people on Twitter praising him for his heroic efforts.

World record-holder Yohann Diniz, who led most of the race, stopped, got going again, then collapsed, has incredibly finished 8th #Rio2016 — AW (@AthleticsWeekly) August 19, 2016

Yohann Diniz stopped his watch before fainting .... a true athlete — Olive Loughnane (@OliveLoughnane) August 19, 2016

It's an unfortunate end for the athlete who is still hunting for his first Olympic medal.

He failed to finish in Beijing eight years ago and was disqualified during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Slovakia's Matej Toth took the gold medal ahead of Australia's Jared Tallent and Japan's Hirooki Arai who finished second and third respectively.