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Clara Adams headed into the California state track-and-field championship as one of the top contenders in the 400m and 200m sprints. The sprinter was able to get the win in the first one but found herself disqualified from both events thanks to a celebration involving a fire extinguisher that served as a tribute to an Olympic gold medalist.
The United States has produced a number of runners who could lay claim to the “Fastest Man In The World” title at one point in time, and Maurice Green was able to join those ranks when he became the man to beat in the 100m sprint around the turn of the millennium.
The Kansas City native cleaned up at the World Championships in 1999 by winning two individual gold medals in the 100m and 200m events (he got another in the 100m relay) the same year he made history in the former with a world record time of 9.79 seconds.
Greene also earned an individual and relay medal thanks to his 100m prowess while representing Team USA at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
He’d lost a step by 2004 due to injuries that marked the end of his prime, but he was still able to get a win at an event where he took a victory lap by throwing his shoes on the track before having an accomplice spray them with a fire extinguisher.
According to The Mercury News, Clara Adams, a sophomore sprinter on the track team at North Salinas High, drew some inspiration from that celebration while competing at the California state high school championships on Saturday, as she grabbed a fire extinguisher from her dad and gave her shoes the same treatment after winning the 400m title.
Unfortunately, that move did not go over well with officials representing the California Interscholastic Federation, who asserted it was an “unsportsmanlike act” and not only stripped her of the 400m title but prohibited her from participating in the 200m race she’d also been slated to compete in.
Her father asserted that her race played a role in the DQ and noted she attempted to avoid ruffling feathers by making sure she was off the track before dousing the shoes, saying:
“She was on the other side of the wall. I told her to step off the track. She did not spray her shoes on the track. We have protested the decision. I feel it was racially motivated.”
Adams’ coach didn’t address the racial element but described the ruling as “unfortunate,” adding, “She was trying to have some fun at the finish line after the 400.”
Green also came to her defense while speaking with KSBW and made it clear he thinks the decision should be reversed:
“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?’
If it was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her.”
Adams will presumably have a shot at redemption next year based on the talent she’s shown she has, but that’s probably not much solace in the immediate wake of the disqualification.