‘Robbed': 16-year-old stripped of state championship over fire extinguisher act
The moment that 16-year-old Clara Adams' State Championship dreams went up in smoke was captured on video, as the controversy surrounding the teen's post-race celebration has made headlines across America.
Adams, a sprinter from North Salinas High School in Salinas, California paid homage to a celebration made famous by American sprint icon Maurice Greene by taking a fire extinguisher from her father and spraying her spikes after winning the 400-meter event Saturday.
CIF officials didn't take too kindly and disqualified her, stripping her of her state title.
The teen could be seen standing in the infield of the track away from other participants as she bent over and started extinguishing her shoes with the fire extinguisher.
Several people who appeared to be CIF officials looked on, with one almost immediately approaching her after the celebration and leading her away.
The celebration was ultimately deemed unsportsmanlike and she was disqualified.
The decision to disqualify Adams came moments before she was slated to run in the 200-meter event, and due to the ruling she was not allowed to run the race, which she had been of the favourites to win.
A devastated Adams spoke after the disqualification after the officials handed down the decision.
'I don't know what's going through my mind right now,' Adams told the Mercury News.
'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.'
Adams' father, David, insisted that 'the opponents were gone' when she used the fire extinguisher and said that CIF officials 'made it about them.'
'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,' he told the TV station.
Adams does have one big supporter in her corner, with Greene himself indicating that he was happy that she did his celebration and felt that she should get her title back.
Greene used the celebration when he won the 100-meter dash in 2004 at the Home Depot Invitational.
'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?' Greene said. 'If it was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her.'
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