The UCI has fined para-cyclist Sophie Unwin and her pilot Georgia Holt after the pair performed a ‘fake’ ceremony using loaned medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Despite finishing third in the Tandem B sprint event on the track, the pair were not officially awarded bronze medals as only four teams participated, with regulations stating that only gold and silver medals will be awarded in that case.
According to reports, the pair felt they deserved medals and took it upon themselves to celebrate the occasion by borrowing bronze medals from teammates from England, including Laura Kenny.
They protested by standing behind the podium with an English flag in hand during the official gold and silver medal ceremony, and were told to move by security. Later, they posed on the empty stage with their borrowed bronze medals for an unofficial ceremony shoot.
Their actions each earned them a fine of 200 Swiss francs from the UCI, the governing body of cycling, for “failing to comply with the instructions of the commissioner/organizer”.
However, they did receive an apology from the event organiser, the Commonwealth Games Foundation, who attributed an error for the confusion.
There were five teams on the entry list for the Tandem B sprint, but only four started the event, triggering the rule. However, their match with Scotland was announced as a bronze medal race by event officials, and Unwin and Holt were even led to the podium after their race, only to be told they would not receive any medals – a decision that reportedly failed them. tears.
“In the small number of cases where there are fewer than five entries for a Commonwealth Games event, the CGF applies a medal award policy to maintain the integrity of the competition,” a CGF spokesperson said.
“The policy – which was published in January this year – states that gold and silver medals will only be awarded if there are only four participants; and only gold medals if there are only three or two participants.
“Unfortunately, while the athletes in the women’s tandem B sprint were aware of this before the race, the scoreboard and results sheet incorrectly indicated that it was a bronze medal race. We apologize to the athletes involved for the unintentional distress this has caused.”