"This crowd should be ashamed, this is not what competition is about. He was really hurt last night," said Michael Johnson on the BBC.

Denise Lewis added: "They don't know any better, do they?" Gabby Logan said: "They have seen Olympics before though, they must know that is not the way to treat a great champion."

Paula Radcliffe took a similarly dim view, writing: "That is just wrong. Ashamed of the track and field crowd tonight. Cheer your own as loud as you like but never disrespect the others."