Watch as England’s ‘glittering’ moment spoilt as major error Forces heart-breaking ruling in 4x400m women’s relay at Commonwealth Games 2022 – Michmutters
Categories
Sports

Watch as England’s ‘glittering’ moment spoilt as major error Forces heart-breaking ruling in 4x400m women’s relay at Commonwealth Games 2022

You couldn’t script it.

One of the most dramatic finishes to a race in Commonwealth Games history has had another post-race twist to shatter English hearts and strip their 4x400m women’s relay team of a gold medal.

Watch all the drama in the video above

Stream Seven’s coverage of the Commonwealth Games 2022 for free on 7plus >>

England thought they had hung on for a heart-stopping gold medal victory by 0.01 seconds over Canada when Jessie Knight just barely held off the fast-finishing Kyra Constantine in the very last athletics race for the Games.

The host nation had a massive lead heading into the last leg, but Constantine surged her way up to Knight, who looked gone.

But Knight had more fight left in her yet, creating one of the all-time great finishes to a race in Games history.

She mustered up everything she had to sprint to the line alongside Constantine in a finish that was far too close to call.

After waiting with bated breath, the stadium erupted when replays showed Knight had held on by the barst of margins to claim gold.

Then came the twist.

Constantine and Knight finished 0.01 seconds apart. Credit: 7Sport

After a protest, officials reviewed England’s changeover at the end of the first leg, when Jodie Williams received the baton from Victoria Ohuruogu.

During an awkward handover, Williams had inadvertently drifted over into the lane on her inside, lane two, as she was about to receive the baton and take off.

So disoriented were the two English runners that even Ohuruogu was standing in lane two as she watched her teammate run off.

The review found that the England team clearly infringed and, in such a close race, could have had a slightly unfair advantage that meant they hung on for gold, so they were stripped of their gold medal.

This was the moment England were disqualified for. Credit: 7Sport

EVERYEVENT: Check out the full Commonwealth Games schedule

TALLY MEDAL: Every gold, silver and bronze at Birmingham 2022

LATEST RESULTS: Detailed breakdown of every event at the Games

The England team completed a victory lap before having the bad news broken to them.

Athletics commentator Rob Walker said it was a clear-cut decision.

“It’s as clear as day; you cannot step on the inside,” he said.

“Possibly, because the gold, in the end, was determined by such an incredibly slender margin – maybe if they’d won it by 50 meters there wouldn’t have been a protest. But that was clear and away, and England’s glory turns to heartache.

“It was an incredible, incredible end to the race, but it is Canada’s gold in the end – and by a little more than a hundredth of a second.”

Desperate to hang on to their gold, England protested the decision, but were denied.

(From left): Ama Pipi, Victoria Ohuruogu, Jessie Knight and Jodie Williams celebrate what they thought was a gold medal-winning performance before the bad news was broken to them. Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images

Athletics commentator Tim Hutchings said they had no grounds on which to protest.

“Jodie took a couple of steps inside the lane which was Canada’s lane, ironically, lane two,” he said.

“And then, once she’d set off and righted herself in the correct lane, Victoria Ohuruogu was standing in the wrong lane – that’s how disoriented they were.

“She was standing in the lane inside England’s lane as she watched Jodie Williams head off on her second leg. That compounded the infringement.”

“It was, at the time, a glittering, glittering end – the perfect end – to a wonderful six-day, 12-session bonanza of athletics,” Walker added.

But it wasn’t to be, and Canada finishes with the medal, while Jamaica was elevated to silver, and Scotland took third.

Just like Tokyo 2020 on Seven, there will be one destination to watch every epic feat, every medal moment, every record attempt and every inspiring turn from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

7plus is the only place to watch up to 30 live and replay channels of sport, see what’s on when, keep up to date with the medal tally, create a watchlist to follow your favorite events and catch up on highlights.

In the video below: A wrap of all the action from Day 10

Australia’s golden Day 10 at Comm Games.

Australia’s golden Day 10 at Comm Games.

.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *