BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — An English para-cycling group that protested after being barred from a medal ceremony on the Commonwealth Video games has been fined by biking’s governing physique.
Sophie Unwin and Georgia Holt appeared to have received bronze within the tandem B dash Friday, with the scoreboard declaring them medalists, however they had been denied entry to the rostrum. Underneath competitors guidelines, solely gold and silver medals are awarded when there are fewer than 5 entrants.
Holding an English flag, they stood behind a fenced-off space when the medal ceremony started. Safety guards made them transfer.
Later, Unwin and Holt stood alone on the rostrum with bronze medals borrowed from supportive English teammates. This motion led the worldwide governing board Union Cycliste Internationale on Saturday to fantastic each cyclists in addition to England group supervisor Keith Reynolds 200 Swiss francs ($210), the BBC reported.
The UCI stated the fantastic was for “failure to respect the directions” of the organizers.
Unwin, who's visually impaired, competes on a tandem bike with Holt as her pilot.
The Commonwealth Video games Basis stated Saturday that the choice to not award a bronze medal will stand with a view to “keep the integrity of competitors.”
The muse stated athletes had been knowledgeable of the coverage earlier than the race, however “the scoreboard and outcomes sheet incorrectly indicated that it was a bronze medal race. We apologize to the athletes concerned for the inadvertent misery this has brought about.”