“Outrageous”: Silver medal stripped after illegal act
The women's 5,000m final has ended in controversy after the second place holder was stripped of her medal and disqualified.
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet took out first place in the final, while her fellow countrywoman Faith Kipyegon crossed the line second.
The two Kenyan champions were seen celebrating with their country's flag after the race concluded, but their celebrations were cut short when news of Kipyegon's disqualification came through.
Replays show that with two laps of the race to go, Kipyegon became entangled in a close proximity battle with Ethiopian rival Gudaf Tsegay as they raced for the first place.
Kipyegon appeared to pull on the arm of Tsegay who reacted angrily by fending off the Kenyan.
A Eurosport commentator was in disbelief over the display and couldn’t quite believe Kipyegon had been disqualified over the act.
“That was outrageous I’m afraid. I am astonished,” he said on the global broadcast.
“That was dreadful. She was not in front of her and shouldn’t have moved into her space. She wasn’t remotely far enough in front of her. There’s a rule you cannot [enter] into the space of an athlete where their feet are landing. Tsegay there was very out of order."
“I think Tsegay was pushing into Kipyegon. Kipyegon just tried to protect her area, her zone so to speak."
“If anything from those pictures what I’ve witnessed so far, and we need to get more information, I think Tsegay should have been disqualified. I am utterly flabbergasted. I cannot believe it. If anything they’ve got it completely wrong.”
Because of the disqualification, Dutchwoman Sifansaw Hassan moved into the silver medal position, while Italy’s Nadia Battocletti took bronze.
The Kenyan team officials, however, were determined to fight the disqualification, as they swiftly filed an appeal, arguing that the contact between the two athletes was incidental and did not warrant being stripped of her medal.
After a thorough review of the incident, the appeal panel agreed with the Kenyan team’s assessment, concluding that the contact was part of the natural dynamics of a highly competitive race.
As a result, Kipyegon's silver medal was reinstated.
Image credits: Dave Shopland/Shutterstock Editorial