From NZRUN.com
Here is an explanation of Steve Willis's appeal of Nick's DQ, and then his further comment on Nick's reaction and thoughts. Be inspired!
"Nick's races were both encouraging and frustrating. The world indoors
are traditionally a bit of a lottery in terms of who will show up. But
this being Olympic year meant that most of the guys in the top 16 were
there. Nick has never raced an indoor 1500 - they only run mile races
in the states - so he didn't have a seed time which was slightly
concerning going into the heats as qualifying for the final was top 2
from each of the three heats and the next fastest three times. He drew
heat one (again) which basically meant he had to get second as the
chances of him advancing as a fastest loser would be slim. He ended
up getting second easily and things looked good for the final. This is
the first time he has gained an automatic qualifying sport for a major
world championship.
For the first 400 meters the final looked like is was going to be a
long fast push which would have suited Nick given his current shape
and race fitness. But then it slowed down to be a typically tactical
championship final with the medals decided on who had the best
positioning going into the last lap rather than who was necessarily in
the best shape. Here's a link to a video of the race
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P5f3Ad_WUes&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P5f3Ad_WUes&feature=related
>
We had no idea that he would be disqualified until the results came up
on the big screen and it had a biq DQ besides Nick and Mekonnen from
Ethiopia (the winner). This meant lodging an appeal against the track
referee's decision. Here's part a report I put together outlining the
appeal process. /
/*The appeal*
Rule 163.3 says that athletes shall be disqualified for running on or
inside the line marking the inside of the track on the bend... "Except
as stated in 163.4,..."
Rule 163.4 If an athlete is pushed or forced by another person to run
outside his lane and if no material advantage is gained then the
athlete shall not be disqualified.
We lodged an appeal on the grounds that Nick was forced onto the
infield by other athletes cutting in on him and that his actions were
necessary to avoid taking down athletes in front of him. We pointed
out that in all cases no advantage had been gained (if anything it
slowed him down), and that Nick did his best to get back onto the
track as quickly as possible.
Obviously a rule is a rule, but this is a particularly grey area in
that many athletes often break this rule by involuntarily stepping on
the infield but *don't* get disqualified - especially if no advantage
is gained, and no other athlete(s) are disadvantaged as a result.
The Spanish track officials and the jury saw it differently,
concluding that "there was no justifiable reason for Nick stepping off
the track and that in accordance with 163.3 the NZ appeal would be
rejected."
Presumably, the fact that Nick stepped off on more than one occasion
was a key factor, and possibly the reason why Mekkonen's
(Ethiopian who won the race) disqualification was overturned as he
only stepped inside once. /
Obviously Nick was pretty disappointed. Not so much about the DQ,
(that was more like rubbing salt in the wound) rather he realised
could have won a medal had he chosen different tactics. However
hindsight is a great tool, and there were some very significant
positives about the whole deal. He easily made the final as an
automatic qualifier and despite getting jostled and stopping and
starting the whole way he was still good enough to nearly get a medal.
He now knows he really does have what it takes to mix it with these
guys in Beijing. That's something the judges can't take away. Plus,
Beijing is the one that really matters."