Hoang Thanh Viet of Ho Chi Minh City.

Bui Duy Thuong of Hanoi was declared winner of the men’s 100m race at 10’’62 ahead of Ho Chi Minh City’s Hoang Thanh Viet by 00”01 at the National Athletic Championships.

After the race at HCMC’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Wednesday, organizers had failed to decide the winner was as Thuong and Viet finished in a dead heat and video recordings were inconclusive.

Speaking at a two-hour meeting in Hanoi on Thursday, Dang Thi Hong Nhung, head of the electronics unit, said that in his opinion, the electronic clock showed that the athlete on lane No.4 was ahead of the runner on lane No.3.

However, Nguyen Trung Hinh, HCMC team representative, objected to the decision. Hinh said, “The electronic clock used by the judges was not clear and they [the judges] shouldn’t have made a decision based on their feelings.”

Hinh’s opinion was supported by Nguyen Dinh Cach, head of a group of experts who judged the case.

Cach said, “I’ve been working as a judge for several years and experience shows that the athlete on lane 3 finished ahead of the runner on lane 4.”

Tran Thi Huong Thuy, deputy director of the General Department of Referees, also supported Hinh.

Thuy said, “The timing clock for each lane indicated the athlete on lane 3 finished in 10’’30 and the runner on lane 4 clocked 10’’32.”

Despite the dispute and lack of clarity, Nguyen Manh Hung, director of the General Department of Referees, decided Thuong was the winner.

Hung said, “The images in the video recordings were not clear; and the electronic clock’s recorder couldn’t help, either.

“Therefore, I have to depend on the electronic clock’s results to decide the winner.”

Hung said he had received a complaint from Ho Chi Minh City team and would pass it on to officials at higher level to resolve the problem.

The electronic clock is a Seiko made in Japan. The Physical Training and Sports Department bought the device to be used at the South East Asian Games in 2003.

Asked whether the electronic clock was not working properly, Hung said, “The clock was accurate. The problem was that the lighting system at Thong Nhat Stadium was not good enough. That was why the images were not clear.”

In related news, Asian champion Bui Thi Nhung of Hai Phong won the women’s high jump gold medal after clearing 1.86 meters on the second day of the national event on Thursday. Duong Thi Viet Anh finished second at 1.84 meters.

Source: Tuoi Tre