The athletes did not understand why they were going so fast.
12 athletes of different levels showed results above the world record at the most important competitions. But the reason is not sudden progress or doping. It turned out that the organizers simply incorrectly measured the distance that the athletes had to cover.
It would be funny if the participants in the scandalous start were not at risk of flying past the Olympics.
Walking too fast
Scandalous events occurred at the Pan American Games in Santiago, the capital of Chile. A 20 kilometer women’s race walking competition was organized in O’Higgins City Park. They also served as a qualifier for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Problems were discovered already during the race. The athletes did not understand why the time on the clock did not correspond to the distance traveled. It seemed to them that the distance was covered much faster than usual. When, according to the estimated time, there were still three kilometers left, the girls saw the finish line.
Peruvian Kimberly Garcia completed the allotted distance the fastest. Her result is 1 hour 12 minutes 26 seconds. For comparison: the world record set by Chinese woman Yang Jiayu is more than 11 minutes longer. This achievement, in addition to Garcia, was surpassed by more than a dozen athletes, some of whom are unknown even to specialists. At the same time, Kimberly is an honored and titled athlete, two-time world champion and world record holder at a distance of 35 km. However, even she is unable to walk 20 km in less than 1 hour and 20 minutes. Her personal best is 1:26.58. Moreover, even the world record among men is much more modest than Garcia’s “result” in Santiago – 1:16.36. In total, 12 athletes completed the Games in Chile faster than the best result in history.
Kimberly Garcia / Photo: © Andy Lyons / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
Measurer’s negligence
Of course, one could be happy about the level of South American race walking. But the girls were not having fun. They turned to the organizers with a request to provide clarification and answer the question: what is happening?
During the investigation, it turned out that the actual distance turned out to be… almost three kilometers shorter than stated! In other words, the athletes did not walk the classic twenty, but only 17 km. The question about anomalous records disappeared by itself, but another one arose: who is to blame for such a curiosity?
The organizers of the Pan American Games said that they need to ask the continental athletics association. They, in turn, quickly found the culprit – he turned out to be a certain measuring expert Marcelo Iturralde. Officials hired him to measure the length of the route and hoped for a high level of work. However, he treated his duties as negligently as possible.
Games chief executive Harold Mayne-Nicholls was furious and publicly called the situation disgraceful.
— The competition was very beautiful. The Peruvian athlete could well lay claim to a real record. What happened can only be called a disgrace. I was told that the error would be corrected. If not, then it’s a double shame,” Maine-Nicholls said, as quoted by the Associated Press.
“I wanted to set a new record”
Later, the judges canceled the time of all participants in the scandalous entry. The girls were naturally upset about the situation.
“During the distance, I tried to focus on my feelings so as not to lose control. The mistake affected not only me – other girls wanted to get to the Olympics. I wanted to set a new Pan American record. Weather was good. It’s a pity that everything didn’t go as planned,” Kimberly Garcia was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Kimberly Garcia / Photo: © Naoki Nishimura / AFLO / Global Look Press
Due to a hitch, the men’s competition had to be delayed – the walkers started an hour later than planned. But problems with their distance have not been publicly reported. Maybe the route was measured by another expert?
Floods and breakdowns
The course length error is not the only problem on the Pan American. The Chileans, apparently, failed to prepare for the competition.
In particular, the flood interrupted the women’s handball match between Brazil and Chile. As it turned out, the roof of the sports complex was not properly sealed. The match was fought to the end and ended with the victory of the Brazilians (30:10), and then the workers urgently repaired the holes in the roof.
Athletes and fans also complained about the piles of garbage that accumulated around the National Stadium after the opening ceremony. They were supposed to be removed within a few hours, but in the end it took four days.
Heaps of garbage in Chile / Photo: © Anadolu Agency / Contributor / Anadolu Agency / Gettyimages.ru
And such errors were everywhere. There were not enough volunteers, food courts and toilets, and the guards were careless about their work and threatened to go on strike. Athletes complained about the great distance of hotels from the stadium – some took more than an hour to get there.
And the most serious risk for Panamericana was the breakdown of the water pump in the local swimming pool. There were fears that the water sports competitions would not take place in full. Fortunately for the organizers, they quickly found and fixed the problem.
Let the IOC speak
Against the backdrop of wild blunders, there were optimists who saw nothing terrible in the situation. Chilean President Gabriel Boric called the work of the organizing committee impeccable, and Sports Minister Jaime Pizarro said that everything was going smoothly, and even hinted at a future bid for the Olympic Games. I wonder if there will also be shorter 20-kilometer races?
Chile has never hosted a major international competition, so for officials the Pan American will be an experience, albeit a bad one. But what to do with athletes whose time has been revoked? They clearly did not expect such a trick from the organizers.
Therefore, the International Olympic Committee would do well to answer this question as soon as possible. Otherwise, a mistake by a clumsy measurer could put an end to the careers of many talented athletes.
2023-10-31 14:49:40
#World #records #athletes #Crazy #embarrassment #selection #Olympics
