Paralympic Games organizers annulled a track result and ordered the winner to return her medal after upholding a protest over the race in which six wheelchair athletes fell and one was taken to the hospital.
A crash during the final lap of the women’s T54 class 5,000m in Beijing on Monday night resulted in just five of the 11 racers finishing. Canada’s Diane Roy was yesterday asked to give her gold medal back as organizers rescheduled the race for Friday.
“That’s what makes this sport so unexpected and exciting,” US wheelchair racer Cheri Blauwet said on the US Olympic Committee’s Web site after suffering cuts to her head, shoulder and arms in the pileup. “You hope to be on the other side of the crash, but tonight I wasn’t.”
PHOTO: AFP
Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland, whose fall produced a domino effect at the Bird’s Nest stadium, was disqualified from the re-run, organizers ruled. They said the medals ceremony had gone ahead because the officials involved weren’t informed about protests by the Australian, US and Swiss teams.
“Mistakes happened,” Paralympics spokesman Chris Cohen told reporters yesterday. “They clearly got things in the wrong order.”
Japan’s Wakako Tsuchida was taken to the hospital for X-rays and sustained no broken bones, said Peng Mingqiang, the medical services manager at the stadium. Sweden’s Gunilla Wallengren suffered facial cuts and was kept under observation at the athletes’ village to check for concussion.
The annulment was declared after Australia’s team said their racer Christie Dawes had been obstructed. A US protest about another incident wasn’t heard, nor was an objection by the Swiss team about officials blocking racers in the last 50m as they tried to help the injured, Cohen said.
The Paralympic committee’s appeals jury rescheduled the event after considering the seriousness of the crash and the number of athletes involved, Cohen said.
“In the interest of fairness for all concerned, it was decided the race will be held again,” Cohen said.
Shelly Woods of Britain had to hand back the silver medal and Amanda McGrory of the US returned the bronze.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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