Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw down his greco-roman bronze medal in protest on Thursday after his bid for Olympic gold was ended by a decision denounced by the Swedish coach as “politics.”
While he may have a valid claim, I think it was very un-sportsman like to discard the medal that way. There are questions raised about decisions every Olympics (That's why there are no more Perfect 10's). There are questions about the age of some of the Chinese gymnasts, but you don't see other gymnasts act this way. It's to bad he couldn't accept the medal and file a grievence.
Well in case you missed it, the Wrestler was right, however he still mishandle the problem - regardless of how upset you are, you need to go through the process - if he had, maybe things would have worked out differently.
BEIJING (AP)—It turns out that the Greco-Roman wrestler who was stripped of his bronze medal for dropping it in disgust on the mat had reason for being angry, according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Ara Abrahamian of Sweden complained to CAS that a penalty in the second round of his 84-kilogram bout on Aug. 14 against Italian Andrea Minguzzi wasn’t assessed until after the round ended. Once factored in, Abrahamian automatically lost the match. Minguzzi went on to win the gold medal.
Abrahamian’s coach was then denied a request for a video review, then the wrestling federation—the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, or FILA—refused to consider a protest.
If you thought that was bad... What about the guy who whacked the ref when he was disqualified for taking to long with an injury in one of the fights earlier in the week. The coach got a life time ban as well
Bigdaddes,
Your right this was totally unsportsmanlike, I had made the post about the medal throwing because it took place on the awards stand. Matos actions were worse, however I hadn't been following the games the last couple of days and missed this. The article I read said the coach was also banned for life, I guess for charging the match and claiming attempted bribes.
Snapshot of the article:08/24/08
Cuban taekwondo competitor Angel Matos and his coach, Leudis Gonzalez, may be permanently banned from Olympics competition after Matos kicked referee Chakir Chelbat. The altercation occurred when Matos was disqualified in the second round of his match with Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov.
Up 3-2 with a minute remaining, Matos fell to the ground and awaited medical attention when his one minute of injury time expired, thereby awarding the match to his adversary. From there, Matos snapped and created a scene straight out of the WWE handbook.
About the coach:
“He was too strict,” Gonzalez said, referring to the decision to disqualify Matos. Afterward, he charged the match was fixed, accusing the Kazakhs of offering him money.
bigbaddes Wrote:If you thought that was bad... What about the guy who whacked the ref when he was disqualified for taking to long with an injury in one of the fights earlier in the week. The coach got a life time ban as well