The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : Australians urged to return medals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006

Sport

Sport - Athletics

Australians urged to return medals

SYDNEY: The Australian 4x400m women's relay team should hand back the Commonwealth Games gold medals they were awarded after their protest led to England being disqualified, one of Australia's most respected athletes said.

Ron Clarke, who set 18 world records in middle and long distance events during the 1950s and 1960s, called on Jana Pittman, Caitlin Willis, Rosemary Hayward and Tamsyn Lewis to hand the medals back as an act of sportsmanship.

England easily won the relay final ahead of Australia but was disqualified on a minor technicality after their third runner, Natasha Danvers Smith, had been standing in the wrong order at a changeover.

England was already in front and gained no obvious advantage, but the Australians lodged a protest, which saw them awarded the gold and England disqualified.

"I am absolutely appalled by what went on and frankly our girls should never have accepted the medal," Clarke told today's edition of Daily Telegraph.

"How can they accept a gold medal when they were out-raced? They should give their gold medals to England without hesitation."

Australian Athletics officials defended the decision by the athletes to protest, saying England would have been disqualified anyway because track officials had already picked up the rule-breach.

But Clarke said the rule should be changed. "They applied the rules, but it's poor sportsmanship," he said. . — Reuters

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