Turns out, the Japanese athlete was directed into the stadium one lap too soon. He still had another lap to complete.

Due to the mistake, Yamazaki was credited with a "did not finish" today at the world track and field championships. Yamazaki, much to the delight of the Japanese crowd, crossed the finish line fifth before the mistake was noticed.

Yamazaki started quick and, although he faded late in the race, was still slated for a top-10 finish. Australia's Nathan Deakes won the event.

"I feel very responsible for this," said Koji Sakurai, the competition chairman for the local organizing committee.

Sakurai said the number of laps that Yamazaki had completed was miscommunicated to the staff members in charge of directing runners into the stadium.

"Therefore, this particular athlete went into the stadium with one (more lap) to go," Sakurai said. "This error was a fatal mistake."

IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss, who was sitting next to Sakurai at a press conference, tried to cheer him up.

"This has happened from time to time," Weiss said. "It's regrettable."

All three race walks at the world championships had something go wrong. In the men's 20-kilometer run, Javier Francisco Fernandez of Spain surged past Tunisia's Hatem Ghoula in the last 5 meters to finish second, but was disqualified by the chief judge at the finish.

Fernandez appealed and the decision was overturned several hours after the race, with a technical committee reviewing video and deciding unanimously that the Spaniard's technique over the last meters did not warrant disqualification. Fernandez was reinstated to silver.