2018 World U20 100m hurdles silver medalist Brittany Anderson said she experienced a range of conflicting emotions after she crossed the finish line inside the Ratina Stadium in Tampere, Finland on Sunday.
Anderson, who won the World U18 title in Nairobi, Kenya in 2017, crossed the line together with the USA’s Tia Jones and both athletes were credited with the same time 13.01s (0.002) but somehow the American was awarded the gold medal and Anderson the silver.
“My mind was blown because I thought that I won the race but when I looked up at the screen and I saw that the USA girl, Tia Jones, won the race I was so upset but as I looked at the time and I realized we both ran the same time that joy just came back,” Anderson said on Wednesday.
She said she felt she should have also been awarded a gold medal as well and the IAAF Competition Rule 167.1 and 167.2 supports her claim. Those rules said that if the athletes are unable to be separated down to the thousandth of a second then it should be declared a tie.
She said she ran to her coach when she realized what was happening and was told that Jamaica was going to file a protest. “He said I shouldn’t worry about that because they are going to protest but after a few interviews, they rushed the medal ceremony so I don’t think they got enough time to do what they were doing,” she said.
The protest was thrown out and Dr Warren Blake told SportsMax.TV on Tuesday that he will send a letter to the IAAF seeking clarification as to why Anderson was not awarded a gold medal as per the competition rule.
Meantime, Anderson who will now turn her attention to preparing for the Youth Olympics in Argentina in October said that despite the controversy she is thankful that she ran a personal best and won a medal for herself and her country.
Source: Leighton Levy
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