There was a cruel post-script to Australia’s stunning victory in the 4×100m relay at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday night when the Aussie men were awarded their gold medals in an empty stadium that was being dismantled. The quartet of Lachie Kennedy, Josh Azzopardi, Calab Law and Rohan Browning stunned Olympic champions Canada to win Australia’s first gold in the event since 1974.
But the medal ceremony wasn’t held until hours later because Canada lodged an appeal after initially being disqualified for a lane infringement. The Canadian appeal was successful and they were reinstated to the silver medal, but the result still wasn’t official because another team then lodged a counter protest.
The Aussies were awarded their relay gold medals in an empty stadium that was being packed up. Image: Getty/Devin Heroux
That protest fell on deaf ears and Australia’s gold was finally ratified near midnight in Glasgow. But the delays resulted in a cruel moment for the Aussie men because there were no spectators in attendance by the time they were finally presented their medals.
The medal ceremony had to be pushed back until after the final event of the night, meaning fans in attendance had all left the stadium. Because it was the final night of the athletics program in Glasgow, officials were dismantling the track and packing everything away by the time the ceremony took place.
According to Canadian journalist Devin Heroux, officials couldn’t use the stadium’s speakers to announce the medal winners because it was so late that they’d gone past the local noise curfew. Instead they had to use a localised sound system, which would have taken away from the Aussies’ crowning moment as well.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my career,” Heroux wrote on social media. “Crews are tearing apart the stadium and we are still awaiting the men’s 4x100m relay medal ceremony.”
Officials were dismantling the area and spectators had all left the stadium. Image: Devin Heroux
Fans question medal ceremony decision
Some questioned why the ceremony couldn’t be held during the official closing ceremony on Sunday night so that spectators could be in attendance to celebrate the athletes. That often occurs at the Olympics for events that fall on the final day of competition.
One person wrote: “Too bad they didn’t get their medals in front of a crowd.” Another commented: “Really sad they can’t get a normal ceremony. They deserved a proper ceremony. But I guess a medal is a medal.”
While a third added: “It’s a huge shame that it was in an empty stadium! They should have had the ceremony tomorrow in front of a huge crowd.”
