2 months ago
22
Ian Forbes, vice-president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), says they found no errors in the decisions made by the Paris Olympics race officials surrounding the close finishes involving Kishane Thompson and Rasheed Broadbell in their respective events.
Thompson and Broadbell found themselves the topic of public debates as track and field fans argued whether the athletes were incorrectly judged to have finished second and third in the men’s 100 metres and the men’s 110 metres hurdles finals, respectively.
Thompson won the silver medal as he finished five-thousandths of a second behind American sprinter Noah Lyles.
On the other hand, Broadbell took home bronze after finishing three-thousandths of a second behind silver medallist Daniel Roberts.
Forbes who was the guest speaker on a Lions Club of Kingston virtual ‘Speaker’s Meeting’ on Wednesday, said despite public demands from fans to appeal the decision made by the race officials, the JAAA agreed with the placements after reviewing copies of the photo finish from different angles.
He explained the situation was also brought to the attention of the World Athletics representatives at the stadium, who also confirmed the final placements in both races.
“I am here to tell you that about the steps we took because that was a part of my responsibility to monitor what happened,” stated Forbes. “When we saw how close it was, the first thing that we did was head to the Technical Information Centre to request a copy of the photo finish.
“We got it from one angle and we asked from another angle and we were confident that the result posted was the correct result and that Noah Lyles had won by a slim margin. The same thing was done for the men’s 110m hurdles with Broadbell, who had placed third. Some persons felt he was second, so we did the same thing for his situation.”
Forbes also cleared the air on reports stating the officials had erred in their responsibilities by using thousandths of a second to differentiate the podium placements.
He denied that such a rule exists and was the result of fabrication aimed towards spreading misinformation.
He maintained the placements in a race are primarily judged through photo finishes, with the technology being there to aid the process.
“What was being said about some rule about not going beyond a hundredth of a second to place finalists, we almost scoffed at, there is no such rule,” he explained. “I saw on social media, persons were having a ball. I just want to clarify there is no such rule because we have the technology to go down to the thousandths of a second and possibly even further beyond.”
Forbes continued, “The photo finish picture is what is primarily used and it has to be the torso that passes first, not the head or the foot.”
Jamaica’s Olympic campaign ended with a six-medal haul – one gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
Forbes stated while the loss of several key athletes through injuries or unfortunate incidents in their events saw a less than projected medal tally, the JAAA is buoyed by the performances of several young athletes and upcoming stars.
He is hopeful the Jamaica can continue their development and record a stronger performance at the next Olympic cycle.
English (US) ·