Embarrassment doesn’t even sum it up

DQ in Rimini gives Amey Du title (September 28, 2008)

Paul Amey won his third ITU Duathlon World Championship on a day marred by controversy in Rimini, Italy today. Belgian Rob Woestenborghs was first across the line but after his own teammate lodged a protest, Woestenborghs was later disqualified by race officials thereby giving the world championship title to Amey.

The controversial men's race opened with a pair of Portuguese men, Sergio Silva and Lino Barruncho, taking the early lead. But the main players, Amey, Woestenborghs and Belgians Bart Aernouts and Jurgen Dereere trailed by just seven seconds. The drama began early in the 40-kilometer bike segment as all six men were in the lead pack. According to Dereere, his Belgian teammate Woestenborghs was cycling dangerously. Eventually Amey, Aernouts and Woestenborghs broke away and went on to post the three fastest bike splits of the day by almost two full minutes. That lead was enough for all three to secure the podium with Woestenborghs crossing the line first, Amey second and Aernouts in third.

However, after the race, Dereere filed a protest with race officials against Woestenborghs for his aggressive riding. Officials said it was a tough call but ultimately disqualified both men for what was deemed "unsportsmanlike and dangerous behaviour on the first lap of the bike segment which risked the safety of the competitors around them".

With the disqualification, Amey was crowned world champion for the third time in his career, successfully defending last year's title. But the bitter sweetness of the occasion was not lost on him.

"It's pretty disappointing to win the world championships in this way. (Rob) definitely deserved to win today," said Amey.

Aernouts was awarded the silver while Silva was bumped up to the bronze medal position. After being dropped from the lead pack in the bike, Dereere fell further behind and finished well back and outside the top-20. The disqualification is final and Woestenborghs cannot appeal the decision. He was not available for comment after the disqualification.

Over the next few days, I hope to get more details about what really happened at the Duathlon world championships in Rimini, but at the moment I just feel embarrassed. If the Portuguese or British had lodged a complaint, I could have somewhat lived with that fact, but a fellow countryman? A teammate? Jurgen Dereere might have had a point when he filed his protest, but why couldn’t he have solved the issue within the Belgian team or through the Belgian federation? No other athlete filed a complaint except him. The official Belgian motto “Unity creates strength” was literally flushed down the toilet here. I’m baffled.