Fans fume Paris Olympic athletes were 'CHEATING' in the men's 20km race walk as footage shows possible breaking of the sport's golden rule

Paris Olympics viewers believe they have spotted several athletes cheating in the the men's 20km race walk on Thursday morning.

The event itself always splits opinions, with some critics calling for it to be pulled from the Olympic roster while others enjoy watching the bizarre sport that is rarely broadcasted.

Race walking differs from running, where an athlete often has both feet off the ground during their strides in a sprint, and the rules have caused controversy online amongst sports fans.

Brian Daniel Pintado won Thursday's men's race to claim a first gold medal at the Games for Ecuador, while Brazil's Caoi Bonfim finished second and Spain's Alvaro Martin picking up the bronze medal.

However, footage shared on Reddit has raised suggestions that some participants in the race were cheating as it was claimed one of the sport's biggest rules was broken.

World Athletics state that athletes must have one foot in contact with the floor at all times as visible to the human eye, but slowed down footage appears to show some of the professional walkers temporarily lifting both off at the same time.

Close-up footage shows during one section of the race shows both feet appearing to lift in unison during steps which could constitute running and has caused some strong reactions from onlookers.

Reacting to the clip, one post on Reddit said: 'They all do it. Thats why the tactic now is to hide in the pack until their final push.'

Another similarly added: 'Every single one of them is cheating. Also who wakes up one day and decides to become a speed walker? Not once have I ever seen one of these people in real life.'

A third comment fumed: 'It sure is the most ridiculous "sport". The rules are up for interpretation and anyone looking at this can see they are clearly not "walking". No idea why this is even a sport.'

Meanwhile, others offered possible solutions to the cheating claims, with one comment adding: 'If technically available, it would be good to install sensors on the shoes to see if their feet are above the ground and for how long.'

However, eventual winner Pintado wasn't worried by complaints as he pushed on to claim gold and celebrated by copying Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic 'SIU' celebration as he crossed the finish line. 

Pintado, 29, crossed the finish line and took a moment to catch his breath before jumping up in the air and throwing his hands down by his sides, emulating the Portuguese football icon.