Apolo Anton Ohno, come on, man: you shoved him. These things happen. Just own up, baby!
We’re talking, of course, about the men’s 500 meter short-track speed skating event on Friday night. Ohno finished second, but then was disqualified after judges ruled he had bumped Francois-Louis Tremblay on the final turn.
The Los Angeles Times has a great shot (by John David Mercer of U.S. Presswire) showing Ohno with his hand on Tremblay’s hip, giving him the gentle nudge for glory right before the wipeout.
After the race, Ohno denied to NBC that he’d caused the crash. When pressed, he said he’d put up his hand only to defend himself — and then he blamed the ruling on the nationality of the head referee. “Canadian ref, home soil” is how he put it. You stay classy, Anton!
Tremblay was awarded the bronze medal, and his teammate Charles Hamelin won the gold.
Ohno came back later in the night to win a bronze medal in the 5,000 meter team relay, giving him three medals for these Winter Games and eight Olympic medals in his career. He’s the most-winter-Olympic-medal-winningest athlete in U.S. history.