bron: seatlepi.com
Here's how dramatic Usain Bolt's world record victory was in the 200 meters Wednesday night – the vacuum he created must have drawn two competitors offside.
The second- and third-fastest finishers, Churandy Martina of the tiny Caribbean island nation of Netherlands Antilles, and the U.S.'s Wallace Spearmon, were disqualified after judges ruled each had stepped on lane lines. The upshot was that two Americans, Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, moved up to silver and bronze.
Martina and Spearmon were celebrating on the track what they thought were medals, and carried on in the mixed zone doing interviews. But while Spearmon accepted his disqualification, Martina and the tiny Antilles delegation were furious and filed a protest.
They didn't deny that Martina violated his lane, only that it wasn't noticed until the Americans protested Spearmon's DQ and pointed it out to the judges. Martina's DQ allowed Crawford and Dix to move up.
"The Americans saw the replay with the judges for one to two hours, but nobody told us anything," said Caroline Feith, agent for Martina. "The U.S. had a right to its protest, but is that how the procedure is supposed to work?"
The implication was that somehow the Americans manipulated the DQ rules to their favor against a nation of 140,000, most of whom Wednesday night were up late celebrating with fireworks and parties.
Track officials denied the protest, but it didn't sound as if it the issue was over. Omayra Leefleng, director of the delegation, which had in Beijing three athletes – Martina, a pistol shooter and a swimmer – was asked by an indignant Antilles reporter if she planned to call President Bush.
"No, I will not call," she said, smiling.
As for Martina, he sounded in line with the great tradition of island culture. He said, "I'm staying positive, moving on. I'm No. 1 for all the people, and No. 1 for me, too."
No word from the U.S. on whether the administration considered the protest the hostile act of an aggressor nation worthy of military action.
Here's how dramatic Usain Bolt's world record victory was in the 200 meters Wednesday night – the vacuum he created must have drawn two competitors offside.
The second- and third-fastest finishers, Churandy Martina of the tiny Caribbean island nation of Netherlands Antilles, and the U.S.'s Wallace Spearmon, were disqualified after judges ruled each had stepped on lane lines. The upshot was that two Americans, Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, moved up to silver and bronze.
Martina and Spearmon were celebrating on the track what they thought were medals, and carried on in the mixed zone doing interviews. But while Spearmon accepted his disqualification, Martina and the tiny Antilles delegation were furious and filed a protest.
They didn't deny that Martina violated his lane, only that it wasn't noticed until the Americans protested Spearmon's DQ and pointed it out to the judges. Martina's DQ allowed Crawford and Dix to move up.
"The Americans saw the replay with the judges for one to two hours, but nobody told us anything," said Caroline Feith, agent for Martina. "The U.S. had a right to its protest, but is that how the procedure is supposed to work?"
The implication was that somehow the Americans manipulated the DQ rules to their favor against a nation of 140,000, most of whom Wednesday night were up late celebrating with fireworks and parties.
Track officials denied the protest, but it didn't sound as if it the issue was over. Omayra Leefleng, director of the delegation, which had in Beijing three athletes – Martina, a pistol shooter and a swimmer – was asked by an indignant Antilles reporter if she planned to call President Bush.
"No, I will not call," she said, smiling.
As for Martina, he sounded in line with the great tradition of island culture. He said, "I'm staying positive, moving on. I'm No. 1 for all the people, and No. 1 for me, too."
No word from the U.S. on whether the administration considered the protest the hostile act of an aggressor nation worthy of military action.