Weirdest Pan Am story of the day: Hurdles mayhem

When the eight runners in the final of the men's 110-metre hurdles stepped into the blocks Friday morning at the Pan Am Games. they were prepared to go full speed for the medals.

But a Cuban runner moved early, triggering the sensors that signal a false start, and between the noise of the crowd and falling hurdles, three athletes didn't hear a restart being called, so they finished the race at full speed.

Two of those runners drew attention, for very different reasons. In lane three, American David Oliver ran a time close to the Pan Am record. Over in lane eight, Mikel Thomas of Trinidad and Tobago knocked over every barrier before tumbling over the last one. 

Both of them got a mere half hour to recover before they had to get back on the track to run the race all over again.

The second time around, Thomas again knocked over every barrier, but this time stayed on his feet to win the silver.

Oliver, who still looked winded at the start of the second race, ran even faster, winning gold in a Pan Am record time of 13.07.