Swedish wrestler stripped of bronze medal
By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer
BEIJING (AP)’A Swedish wrestler was disqualified and stripped of his
bronze medal Saturday for dropping the prize in protest after a
disputed loss at the Beijing Olympics.
Ara Abrahamian was punished by the International Olympic Committee for
violating the spirit of fair play during the medal ceremony, becoming
the fourth athlete kicked out of the games and bringing the number of
medals removed to three.
Abrahamian became incensed when a disputed penalty call decided his
semifinal match against Italian Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win
the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram division Thursday.
During the medal ceremony, the Armenian-born Abrahamian – who also
lost a 2004 Olympic semifinal match on a disputed call – took the
bronze from around his neck and, angrily, dropped it on the mat as he
walked away. He did not take part in the rest of the medal ceremony.
The IOC executive board ruled Abrahamian’s actions amounted to a
political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow
athletes.
`It was felt that his behavior on the medal podium and during the
medal ceremony was not appropriate,’ IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies
said. `His behavior was not in the Olympic spirit of respect for his
fellow athletes. Whatever grievances you may have, this was not the
way to go about it.’
The IOC said no athlete will receive Abrahamian’s medal because his
disqualification was not connected to the competition itself, meaning
there will be only one bronze medalist, Nazmi Avluca of
Turkey. Normally, there are two at each weight class.
The 28-year-old Abrahamian had to be restrained from going after
matside officials following his loss to Minguzzi. He stormed away from
the area where interviews are conducted and slammed a door to the
dressing rooms so hard it shook an entire wall. He weighed whether to
skip the bronze medal match, only to have friends talk him into
competing.
The IOC said Abrahamian violated two rules of the Olympic charter, one
which bans any sort of demonstrations and another which demands
respect for all Olympic athletes.
`The awards ceremony is a highly symbolic ritual, acknowledged as such
by all athletes and other participants,’ the IOC said. `Any disruption
by any athlete, in particular a medalist, is in itself an insult to
the other athletes and to the Olympic Movement. It is also contrary to
the spirit of fair play.’
Abrahamian never expressed regret or offered an apology, the IOC
said. The international wrestling federation was asked to consider any
further sanctions against the two-time world champion.
His medal was the third stripped at the Beijing Games so far.
On Friday, North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su had his silver and bronze
medals taken away after failing a doping test. Also expelled for
doping violations have been Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno and
Vietnamese gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong Do.
Abrahamian’s case is not the first of its kind.
A weightlifter at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was stripped of his
bronze medal after rejecting it during the medal ceremony. Ibragim
Samadov, competing in the light heavyweight category for the Unified
Team of the former Soviet Union, was upset with his performance and
refused to have the medal placed around his neck and only accepted it
in his hand. He then put it down and walked off.
Samadov later apologized, but the IOC decision upheld its decision to
disqualify him. He later was banned for life by the sport’s governing
body.
AP Sports Writer Alan Robinson contributed to this report.