Penza, 30 June 2014. PenzaNews. Herd of cows prevented the men triathlon team of UK from winning gold of European championship among juniors up to 23 years of age, which was held in “Chistye prudy” in the Penza region.

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The British took the lead just after the start of the relay. After the first stage they overcame the Russian team by 10 seconds.

When the last relay participants came, the road was suddenly blocked by a herd of cows. Seeing the horned animals, British athlete Harry Burton slowed down. Russian Vasily Krestyaninov was not scared by the cows, so he did not loose time. Later Krestyaninov overcame Burton, and eventually finished first.

The British disagreed with the result of men relay. After the finish, they filed the complaint in the panel of judges, demanding to share the first place between them and the Russians. But judges were not convinced by the arguments of the complainant. After the meeting, they decided to keep the first place for the Russian team.

“Of course, the appearance of cows on the road is a serious obstacle, but the athletes were under the same conditions. Russians turned bolder, so they deserved victory. In addition, he broke into the lead on another route segment,” the chief judge of the competition Duncan Hough) commented.