Big sport is not only the joy of victory, but also the bitterness of defeat. Sometimes the defeat is unfair, with which the athlete does not want to put up and tries to prove his innocence by all available means.
South Korean epee fencer Sin Ah Lam refused to leave the track for half an hour after completing her fight with Germany's Britta Heidemann. The reason for the conflict is unfair refereeing, because of which the Korean woman was left without medals.
The athlete from South Korea had very little left to get to the final - to hold out for the last few seconds of the fight. The judges several times counted the mutual injections of the German and Korean women, but for some reason the stopwatch did not turn on. As a result, the German athlete was able to deliver a decisive blow in an unrecorded time, depriving Korea of a well-deserved award.
Upon learning of her loss, Sin Ah Lam sank onto the platform in tears. According to the rules of fencing, leaving it, the girl would admit her defeat. Therefore, the South Korean athlete spent half an hour on the track while her team filed an appeal. The protest of the Korean side was not accepted - the organizers said that it was filed in violation of the rules. And half an hour later, the athlete was taken away from the platform after talking with officials. Otherwise, the Korean woman would receive a black card and be disqualified.
The controversial situation was commented on by the Secretary General of the International Fencing Federation. According to him, the judges faced a dilemma. It was clear that it was physically impossible to deliver three injections to an opponent in one second, and this clearly indicates a malfunction of the equipment. However, the fight must be judged according to, albeit imperfect, but still immutable rules. As a result, the technical committee made a decision, using data from possibly faulty devices. The Secretary General himself expressed his regret over the situation.
Shin Ah Lam continued to compete for bronze, but lost to her rival from China with a score of 11:15.
