California high school sophomore Clara Adams won the 400-meter race at the state championships with a time of 53:24. However, her celebration involving a fire extinguisher led to her disqualification. Clara’s father, also her coach, told her she was “on fire” and encouraged her to celebrate by allowing her to spray her shoes with the fire-retardant foam from a fire extinguisher. The crowd loved it, but officials deemed it unsportsmanlike conduct and awarded the title to another athlete. Clara was also barred from participating in the 200-meter race. “I’m disappointed and I feel robbed,” she said. “They took my moment away from me. I worked so hard for that title.” Clara’s dad added that she wasn’t on the track itself when she set off the fire extinguisher, and “the opponents were gone.” Public sentiment largely supported Clara, with nearly 90% of respondents in an online poll disagreeing with her disqualification. (Story URL)
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