 The
Armenian born 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. |



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