Ivana Španović has lost a gold medal in the most bizarre of ways. The number mark got separated from her back as she landed a 7.02 jump. By an arbitrary decision, this meant her jump had ended at 6.92, which was far from the desired gold.
Perder un oro… ¿Por un dorsal con imperdibles? ??
La polémica está servida #London2017 pic.twitter.com/9ASaOzsw1w
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) August 11, 2017
Without the number issue, the long jumper would have won the gold in London. Despite the complaint from both her team and ASF, the outcome doesn’t seem likely to change.
The AF rules state that any part of the body touching the sand will affect the length of the jump. The landing starts with any trace being made in the sand by the athlete. Nevertheless, a case involving a number mark is unprecedented.