Sunday, August 17, 2008
Ara Abrahamian, who protested his bronze award in wrestling by discarding it during the presentation ceremony, has been disqualified from the rest of the Games and stripped of his medal. The Swede said he's the victim of "blatant errors in judging."
Abrahamian, who feels he deserved the gold medal, shouted at the referee and confronted the judges after his loss to eventual gold winner Andrea Minguzzi, representing Italy. During the ceremony, he took off his medal and left it on the mat.
"Any disruption by any athlete, in particular a medalist, is in itself an insult to the other athletes and to the Olympic Movement," the IOC said. "It is also contrary to the spirit of fair play."
