After fighting to a semi-final draw with Britta Heidemann, Shin A Lam was on the brink of progressing to the gold medal round with one second left on the clock in extra time. If the match ended in a draw the latter would have moved on, instead the timing equipment was never activated and the final second dragged on, allowing Heidemann to score the final, winning hit. Clearly upset and convinced she was cheated, Shin A Lam refused to leave the piste, for 45 minutes.

Hearing that the judges had giving the decision to Germany’s Heidemann, South Korea’s Shin A Lam broke down in tears and refused to leave the piste (the platform they fence on). Leaving the piste would have meant that she had accepted the judges final ruling.

“I don’t really know how to express the way I feel right now,” said Shin. “I’ve been trying and working to get an Olympic medal for four years. Now I lost it in just one second. It’s just impossible to accept.”

Although it seems almost indiscernible, the footage shows that the timing equipment was not activated as the judge clapped to start the match, giving Heidemann far more than a second to land her final strike.

Lam’s coach immediately questioned the call, and filed a formal appeal, but the decision had already been made and was not overturned.

“It was most likely that there was some failure with the equipment or the button had been pressed in time.

“We were confronted by a dilemma: to take the right decision from a human point of view or the right decision from the point of view of fencing rules, which aren’t perfect. The technical committee decided to take the second route,” said Maxim Paramonov the general secretary of the sport’s federation.

He added that he regrets that the sport relies on “such equipment”.

Shin  A Lam remained on the piste for over 45 minutes until eventually security came to remove her, the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

Heidemann went on to win the silver medal, beaten by Ukraine’s Shemyakina. Shin A Lam ended in fourth position.

[Source: YouTube, BBC, Daily News]