Update: FINA has decided to overturn the disqualification of the defending 400 free gold medalist Tae-Hwan Park. NBC announcer Dan Hicks first broke the news on Twitter that “indications were” that Park would be let back in. It was later confirmed by FINA and South Korean officials.
This means that Canada’s Ryan Cochrane, who had been 8th in the prelims, will now be moved out of the final.
In an official statement, FINA said: “The FINA Jury of Appeal met today in the Aquatic Centre and examined the protest lodged by the Korean Swimming Federation regarding the disqualification of swimmer Tae-Hwan Park in the heats of the men’s 400m free, and based on the recommendation of the FINA Technical Swimming Commission decided to reinstate the above mentioned swimmer in the final of the men’s 400m free.”
Below was the original post, shortly after prelims:
All is not said-and-done in the disqualification of South Korea’s Tae-Hwan Park in the men’s 400 free. The defending Olympic champion, after winning his morning heat, was disqualified for an alleged false start. Video review, however, at any speed did not seem to indicate any such issue.
FINA is allowing the protest to proceed, at least, and it will hold a “jury of appeal” to decide on the matter.
The move is not totally unprecedented; recall that at the 2004 Olympics, American Aaron Peirsol was DQ’ed after winning the 200 back final. That call was overturned, and then considered further after dual protests before Peirsol was officially left with the gold medal.
FINA has confirmed that the call was made by an official on deck, not by any sort of reaction pad or technology. This could play into whether or not an official may have mistaken the lane he saw move.
Canada filed an appeal just to try to see if they could get Ryan into finals, they knew it would likely get denied but any country in that position would have done the same thing. It wasn’t a “shame on canada” the same as it wasn’t a shame on Korea for filing it. Any incident like this at a major competition will get appealed by both sides even if one side knows they will likely lose the appeal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYlzwjLwS2s
Hopefully he can get a good night’s sleep and come back strong! He was really thrown off by that DSQ.
to be fair, i think any country would of lodged a protest if it meant putting one of their swimmers in the final.
Yes, shame on Canada. Any video anywhere? Cochrane should have swum faster in prelims!!!!
its not shame on Canada! Cochrane has had his spot taken away from him (rightly so though) so let Canada protest especially since it has been a questionable dq
I hear canada is now filing a protest on their own?
If true, shame on you, canada!
Hey go easy on Canuckland. Reality is that whichever swimmer was in that position their country’s reps would probably file a counter protest on behalf of their swimmer. I’m not worried, it will likely be denied and Park will race.
where is the video?
Did it turn out that one of the other swimmers flinched as the official suspected, or was it no one??