Race walker Evan Dunfee on winning, then losing, bronze
‘I made the decision not to appeal, as I believe the right decision stood’
Canada’s Evan Dunfee competes in the men’s 20km race walk at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Sunday, July 19, 2015. Ben Thorne, Dunfee and Inaki Gomez are Canada’s race walkers in Rio, and part of a diverse and talented track and field team that is targeting two to three medals here. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Felipe Dana
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Statement from Evan Dunfee on today’s 50km race walk, released by Athletics Canada :
What a day, fourth place at the Olympics in a new National Record. I couldn’t be more proud of my efforts out on the course today, I know that I left everything I possibly had out there and I can’t ask for anything more than that.
As many of your know after the race I was temporarily upgraded to the Bronze medal due to a disqualification of the Japanese athlete after an altercation we had around the 49km mark. Following the race our coaching staff asked for a review of the video at which point the track referee decided that an infraction had taken place.
Following that the Japanese, as is their right, filed an appeal. This afternoon we learned that this appeal was successful and he had been reinstated to the Bronze medal position.
It was then left for me to decide whether to pursue this further with an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Following my return to the village and my viewing of the incident I made the decision not to appeal, as I believe the right decision stood.
Not many people can understand the pain athletes are in three and a half hours into such a grueling race. I believe that both the Japanese athlete and myself got tangled up but what broke me was that I let it put me off mentally and once I lost that focus, my legs went to jello. Contact is part of our event, whether written or unwritten and is quite common, and I don’t believe that this was malicious or done with intent. Even if an appeal to CAS were successful I would not have been able to receive that medal with a clear conscience and it isn’t something I would have been proud of.
I will sleep soundly tonight, and for the rest of my life, knowing I made the right decision. I will never allow myself to be defined by the accolades I receive, rather the integrity I carry through life.
Finally, thank you to everyone who supported myself and my teammate Mathieu Bilodeau today. To see race walk receiving such a wide reception is absolutely amazing! My teammates and my competitors in this event never cease to inspire me and I hope that we have done the same to you today.
Evan Dunfee