High school track star disqualified over controversial celebration reveals she is considering legal action

Daily Mail​

18-06-2025

Clara Adams, the high school athlete disqualified for celebrating her 400m victory by spraying her shoes with a fire extinguisher, is considering drastic action after she was stripped of her gold medal.
Adams, 16, copied the celebration first made famous by the American former 100m world record holder Maurice Greene when she crossed the line in first place at the California state high school track and field championships, which were held on May 30 and 31.
But the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) decided that the celebration was unsportsmanlike and stripped Adams of her championship.
Now, Adams, who was left devastated by the incident, and her father, David, are contemplating taking legal action unless the CIF reinstates her title.
'CIF's rules and regulations are byzantine and outdated,' their attorney Adante Pointer told PEOPLE. 'Nevertheless, we were hopeful they would do the right thing without us having to bring this issue into a court of law as it is clear they did not follow their own rules and regulations which irreparably harmed a young budding track star by robbing her of the state title without proper justification or cause.'
'CIF did not follow their own rules which led to Clara being denied a crowning achievement as the state of California 400-meter champion,' he added.
'This may cost her scholarships, NIL deals and other opportunities now and into the future. Not to mention the emotional distress associated with the track meet officials physically grabbing and yelling at her. She can never relive that moment.'
DailyMail.com has reached out to the CIF for comment.
Adams' father, who also acts as her coach, had handed her the fire extinguisher before racing onto the field when he saw there was an incident unfolding.
He accepted that he broke rules by climbing over rails to get to his daughter, but insisted he felt outraged when he saw an official grab Clara by the arm.
Adams was disqualified from the meet as a whole by officials for her celebrations - denying her the chance to race in a 200-meter event later.
Adams, a sophomore from North Salinas High School, claimed the CIF officials 'overreacted by grabbing me and yelling in my face.'
'As a dad, I still do not understand why the CIF officials berated my daughter, stripped her of her title, banned her from competing in the next race and ignored me when I attempted to get an explanation of what was going on,' her dad David added to PEOPLE
'As a father I was angry about how they physically grabbed and yelled at her. I am still at a loss as to why they treated her and that way. She's a kid and they treated her like an adult and gave her the maximum punishment without any warning or explanation.'
The celebration was reminiscent of Greene, a four-time Olympic medalist and five-time world champion, who famously extinguished his own cleats after he won the 100-meter dash during the 2004 Home Depot Invitational.
Adams claimed she and her dad didn't settle on the celebration until they arrived in Fresno for the meet and saw the old video of Greene.
Adams, who said she was the 'underdog' heading into the event, and David insisted that they carried out the celebration away from her fellow competitors.
Earlier this month, Greene himself weighed in on the controversy, claiming disqualification should be overturned if the celebration was performed away from her competitors.
'When I heard, cause it happened, and then people just started calling me 'This girl who just ran the 400 did your celebration' I was like huh? What?' the ex-athlete told KSBW-TV on Monday.
'If it was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her.'