The strangest side story to Pan Am Games. I feel badly for the girls and coaches on Team Mexico.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 19
The Mexican women’s gymnastics team was stripped of its Panamerican Games bronze medal on Thursday after it was discovered that one of the athletes in the team had been accredited as an official.
PASO (Pan American Sports Organisation) executive committee voted unanimously to disqualify Mexico and upgrade Canada from fourth to the bronze medal position.
During the team competition on Saturday a technical delegate noticed that a Mexican gymnast was accredited as an official (“As” accreditation), not as an athlete (“Ao” accreditation) and reported it to PASO.
After an investigation, the PASO executive committee made the decision to disqualify the Mexican team for a breach of rules.
The bronze medals will be given to the Canadian Olympic Committee, who will distribute them to the women’s team which has already left Brazil and returned home.
© Reuters 2007
(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) – larger original
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