But he was apparently reinstated!! Eurosport has him accepting the gold medal! I'll be very interested to hear the details on this one.
A few of us actually noted his turns were approaching questionable in the semifinals last night. Did anyone else notice that prior to this controversy?
Listen, if Thorpe can swim the 400 after bumbling off the blocks, if Kitajima can swim the fly and win a *** gold medal, if the East Germans can blow gas up their behinneys to get gold, then by god Peirsol can have his backstroke gold medal.
This is the quote from Eurosport:
It would seem that Peirsol spent too long on his front and kicked as he went into the wall...that's a disqualification.
But, they are also saying he was re-instated as gold medalist. Who knows?
Originally posted by Mary
This is the quote from Eurosport:
It would seem that Peirsol spent too long on his front and kicked as he went into the wall...that's a disqualification.
But, they are also saying he was re-instated as gold medalist. Who knows?
No it would not be the 15 meter rule violation. That is another judges call. This call would be the "non-continuos" turn rule, that is, he "kicked" into the wall. This judgement can be protested and overruled by the meet referee.
What is unusual is that typically such stroke/turn officials make it right away. At that point, one of the deck referees will confer to ensure that the "story" is consistent. Based on the reports there seem to be some kind of delay. In any case, it will be ruled on by the meet referee if there is a protest.
I find it nearly impossible to believe this would be "payback" for comments that he has made re Kitajima.
A few of us actually noted his turns were approaching questionable in the semifinals last night. Did anyone else notice that prior to this controversy?
Yes, I was thinking about his turns but didn't see an obvious infraction. Then again, turns are my "hobby" so to speak.
Can't wait to see the tape tonight and hear the explanation for the timing. I assume the stroke official called it right away so why the delay and then reversal.
If this keeps up swimming will start to become more like ice skating.
Actuallly the explanation from Eurosport (www.eurosport.com) is:
"The disqualification of Peirsol seems to have been overturned, according to an official statement, because the explanation of the judge was deemed "insufficient and was not in the working language of FINA."
For d.q. to stand the stroke official must clearly state what he say and sight the exact details of the infraction....e.g. swimmer in lane 3 at the third turn, turned over onto his stomach, did a two arm pull, arms stopped at the hips with no movement, did not initiate the turning action and flutter kicked for several meters before iniatiting the turn"....if any of these details are wrong or the description is too vague the benefit of doubt always goes to the swimmer.
Still....why the D.Q. in the beginning...would think the deck referee would have done this inquiry and killed it before it was flashed on the board....interesting.
Question - is the official language of Fina French or English ? Why have a judge that cannot speak the official language ?
The explanation for the reversal stinks !
I saw the turn and it looked a bit hesitant, I was suprised because he raised his head to look at the wall before turning and he did seem to glide too long. I would have Dq'd for that turn if i was the judge.
If this is the treatment that officials get then why should they take the risk of calling a DQ on a swimmer.:mad:
BTW: Piersol is plainly the best backstroker in the world but he did cross the line on that turn.
[I saw the turn and it looked a bit hesitant, I was suprised because he raised his head to look at the wall before turning and he did seem to glide too long. I would have Dq'd for that turn if i was the judge.
On what basis? Raising your head to look at the wall is not illegal but it is slow. Also gliding is o.k. AS LONG AS YOU HAVE SOME OTHER PART OF YOUR BODY MOVING INTO A TURNING POSITION FOR EXAMPLE THE HANDS. Technically speaking as long as your hands are engaged in the turning movement, including a long slow walk down to your hips, you can otherwise glide until the paint drys.
You say the tape, and I'm envious, but did his hands stop at his hips while he was gliding? If so then I'd call it too.
Again, the hesitation and then reversal is unusual and a more forthcoming explanation would make us all feel better about the process since I support the idea that officials must be supported 100% if they can clearly state the infraction.
I watched this turn in regular, slow and frame by frame motion and have yet to see any infraction. It was pretty obvious what Kitajima did but I can't see anything wrong with Peirsol's turn.
If Fritz Lehman is lurking maybe he can weigh in.
