Sports cliches are easy to come by, but nail-biting does not begin to sum up the drama at the Olympics women’s epee.
During a semi-final match, South Korea’s Shin A-lam lodged an appeal against a controversial decision by referees.
She and her opponent, Britta Heidemann of Germany, had played three times for the winning point, each time with just one second left on the clock. This itself left many spectators wondering: for just how long can you string out one second?
It was during the third “second” that Heidemann scored the winning point. The South Korean coach started an appeal process that lasted an hour, apparently arguing that the win was scored out of time. All the while, Shin refused to leave the piste as by doing so she would accept defeat.
Referees eventually called it in favor of the German.
The crowd, however, overwhelmingly showed support for Shin and many gave her a standing ovation as she left the arena. Shin returned just minutes later for the bronze-medal match but after an early lead fell to defeat. Each time she scored, though, she received much applause and some foot-stamping. The crowd gave her yet another standing ovation as she bowed out.
Previously during her hour-long appeal she had sobbed uncontrollably before the 8,000-strong auditorium.
— Derl McCrudden
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