London 2012 Paralympics: Gold-row Ukrainian snubs new ceremony

THE Ukrainian athlete who was ordered to give back her discus gold medal because of a scoring blunder did not turn up to the rearranged ceremony at the Olympic Stadium yesterday.

Mariia Pomazan stayed away in apparent protest as the gold she had been presented with on Friday was awarded to China’s Wu Qing.

Pomazan was demoted to silver and the place on the podium reserved for the second-placed athlete remained empty.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The 23-year-old admitted on Sunday she was “very, very angry” after losing her gold in the F35/36 class, with organisers announcing the wrong medals had been awarded. Points rather than distance determined the final standings in the combined-class event.

She revealed those feelings had been behind her shot-put gold on Sunday. All three athletes who received medals on Friday were asked to return them, with an appeal by the Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee for the original result to stand rejected by the jury of appeal.

An International Paralympic Committee spokesman said: “Since Friday we have tried to investigate if an alternative could be found that suited all parties that was within the rules. This has not been possible.”

Related topics: