Nationwide — Clara Adams, the 16-year-old African American track athlete from Salinas, California, who recently won the 400-meter sprint at a state championship, had her gold medal taken away after officials ruled that her post-race celebration was “unsportsmanlike” even though it happened after the race and hurt no one.
Clara, a sophomore at North Salinas High School, celebrated her win by spraying a small fire extinguisher on her shoes. The move was a tribute to Olympic sprinter Maurice Greene, who once did the same after a big win.
Officials said it was inappropriate and broke sportsmanship rules, and stripped Clara of her medal.
Greene, whose celebration inspired Clara, publicly supported her. “If it were away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her,” Greene told KSBW.
Clara’s father said the celebration happened after the race, when all other runners had already left. He believes officials overreacted and took the spotlight away from the athletes.
Clara, still proud of her performance, said losing the medal wasn’t the only thing that hurt. “Even if everything goes in my favor… in regards to like getting my title back, I’ll still never get that moment back, like standing on the podium as a sophomore. I’ll never get that back ‘cause they took it from me,” she said.
Meanwhile, a review of 20 years of state championships found no other cases where an athlete was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.