Appeal filed for Martina
August 26, 2008
The Netherlands Antilles has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to restore Churandy Martina as the third-place finisher in the men's 200 metres, after he was disqualified for stepping out of his lane, the country's national Olympic com-mittee said Sunday.
Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the gold in last Wednesday's race. American Wallace Spearmon crossed the finish line second and Martina was third, but both were disqualified for stepping out of their lanes.
Two Americans, Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, were moved up to silver and bronze medal positions.
Video evidence
But the Netherlands Antilles is arguing that the protest against Martina was filed well beyond the 30-minute deadline set by the international track federation and they say they have video showing he stayed in his lane the entire time.
William Millerson, president of the country's Olympic committee, said this also is about a small country standing up to the Inter-national Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
The headline of a Sunday news release announcing the appeal refers to this as a 'David and Goliath case'.
"We're not going away," Millerson said. "Just because we're a smaller country, we don't have to be like a dog, put your tail in your behind and then leave. We cannot do that because, even being a small country, we have our pride."...
Author: Gleaner Reporter
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
