High school track star ‘shocked' after being stripped of championship for tribute celebration
A high school track and field star in California is 'in shock' after being stripped of her state championship over a celebration this past weekend.
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North Salinas High School's Clara Adams was disqualified by officials after winning the 400-metre event on Saturday for using a fire extinguisher while paying homage to U.S. Olympic hero Maurice Greene.
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After the sophomore crossed the finish line to win the race being held at Buchanan High in Clovis, Adams ran over to her father to celebrate.
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David Adams handed his daughter a fire extinguisher, who then — away from her competitors — sprayed the device on her shoes as if they were on fire.
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'I told Clara, 'You're on fire,'' he told the Mercury News. 'She did not do it in front of her opponents. She wasn't disrespecting anyone.'
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California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) officials at the meet didn't see it that way, immediately disqualifying Adams and saying the celebration was unsportsmanlike.
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'I don't know what's going through my mind right now,' Clara said.
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16-year-old Clara Adams was disqualified from the 400m state title after using a fire extinguisher in her celebration
A reenactment of Maurice Green's iconic reaction from 2004
Are officials restricting athletes' expression on the track? pic.twitter.com/ZJ4Yu6yhqH
— RoriDunk (@FitzDunk) June 3, 2025
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'I'm disappointed and I feel robbed. I am in shock. They (officials) yelled at me and told me, 'We're not letting you on the podium.' They took my moment away from me.'
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It wasn't just that moment of victory, either. Because the disqualification was for an unsportsmanlike act, Adams was not allowed to compete in the 200-metre race at the meet — which she was one of the favourites to win.
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'That was our moment of celebration and CIF officials made it about them,' David Adams told local NBC affiliate KSBW. 'The crowd went crazy, they loved it, the CIF booth went crazy, they loved it. But those few guys in those jackets took offence to it, didn't like it and made a decision based off emotions.'
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