Brittany not happy with bronze.
Why is she wearing her jacket?
It wasn't the holes in her uniform.

Author's note: This article was originally posted on USARS website, but removed as it was determined to be not politically correct. If we cannot publicly decry foul play and sweep it under the rug in the name of politics, how will the true spirit of fair competition ever win out?

It’s sometimes hard to understand how one or two countries can so control the World Championships when you have officials from across the world officiating. We saw this influence in Venezuela last year over the controversy with Jordan Malone...but it was easier there to say it was just an apparition, since it was only one time, even though it concerned an Italian skater. Here in Italy, it is now impossible to ignore calls that are designed to assist certain skaters. Never was this more obvious in than in the Junior Ladies 500m final.

After one declassification.
Brittany starting to look like
she's been in a war.

Five days into the competition, Brittany must feel like this year's Worlds was just not meant to be. After two questionable declassifications, one of which left her out of the medals entirely, it’s hardly surprising to find her at the center of the biggest controversy of Worlds, through no fault of her own, in the 500m final. Having just proven her superiority and earned gold in the 20K elimination earlier in the day, Brittany was on fire for the 500m. After such a huge physical effort, no one expected Brittany to be as strong as she was for the sprint final. At the outset, Brittany was in the front two. She took the lead at about 300m to go and powered into first down the back stretch, gaining a six foot gap on Columbia with Italy close behind. Italy and Taipei tangled it up on turn 3, just after the backstretch. On the turn, Columbia tried to slip inside but was unable to pass Brittany. Just past the final corner, Columbia grabbed Brittany and pulled her down. Britt slid on her rear-end about 15 feet towards the finish line. By the time Brittany was up, the others had crossed the finish line. Then came the announcement that both Brittany and Columbia had been disqualified. Chinese Taipei, who crossed the line first, was declassified for the tangle up on turn 3. Guess who that put with he gold medal? Yep. Italy.

The Infamous Pulldown -- frozen in time.

Although we felt that there possibly should have been other US protests during Worlds, this time the US coaches appealed Brittany's disqualification. The head judge told the USA that the decision would stand even after reviewing the official video. The protest was then appealed to the CIC. The CIC officials reviewed the video and then decided that the disqualification for Brittany was not justified and she received the bronze medal. It was still a bitter disappointment for Brittany who had the gold within her grasp on the final turn. Some people think that the penalty for Columbia should have been a disqualification from the meet, not just from that single race.

The events of this race are a microcosm of the entire World meet. Two countries are dominating these championships -- and in most cases, rightfully so. Individually, even given all the factors that affect a race, there isn't a competitor that doesn't deserve to win and most are gracious in victory and in defeat. But to try to win at any cost, or to have non-competitors give a skater a placement without agreement of all officials, puts a real tarnish on the medal. In the 500m race, this was certainly the case. The fastest skater didn't win. The smartest skater didn't win. But the bronze medal that Brittany was finally awarded last night was shinier than anything she already has. Gracious to the end, Brittany Bowe showed the heart of a champion. Someone else can call herself World Champion, but we know who is the true winner.