Cleopatra Borel never got to compete for an Olympic medal in the women’s shot put final. But on Monday, she was listed as an official finalist. The adjustments in the results were made following the disqualification of gold medallist Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus after she failed a doping test. Borel orignally placed 13th, with a best throw 18.36 metres, just missing out on a top 12 spot and a chance to throw for the gold medal, by some nine centimetres. She finished just behind Natalie Duco of Chile, who threw 18.45m. Ostapchuk’s disqualification means Borel was elevated to 12th, and adds another finalist to T&T’s bag of success at the Games which ended on Sunday. T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) secretary general Brian Lewis holds strong feelings on the issue of doping and made the call for life bans for athletes guilty of such an act. “Cleopatra (Borel) was denied her opportunity to contest for a medal. You could not have known what would have happened if she was given the chance. It highlights the fact that the penalties for doping should be more severe so that honest athletes would not have to suffer,” suggested Lewis.
The Belarussian athlete tested positive for anabolic agent metenolone on August 5 and 6 and was disqualified from the final results.
Valerie Adams of New Zealand was awarded the gold medal while Russia's Evgeniia Kolodko was promoted to silver and  Lijiao Gong earned the bronze. “Valerie (Adams) never got the chance to hear her anthem play. That can’t be replaced. The two other medallists like her will never get to experience their moment in the spotlight. Changing the results after the fact is not enough," said Lewis. This was reiterated by the president of the National Association of Athletic Administrations (NAAA), Ephraim Serrette,who described the outcome as “sad”. “Nobody knows how she would have performed on the day. It’s a sad day for that particular event. “Just look at Keshorn (Walcott), how well he performed in the final, winning gold,” said a concerned Serrette. “It’s just sad that she could not get a chance to compete in the final.” Manager of the T&T Olympic track and field team, Dexter Voisin, worked closely with Borel, who made her third appearance at the Olympic Games. Voisin seemed clearly bothered by the news and found it difficult to comment on the topic.
“I don’t know how to respond,” said Voisin. “I would have preferred she’d thrown in the final. Performance can change in the final. Look at Keshorn (Walcott), the top qualifiers couldn’t even match their throws in the qualification round when they got to the final, they didn’t come close,” said Voisin. He refers to the defending Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen from Norway and Czech Republic's Vitezslav Vesely, who threw 88.34 metres in the qualifying rounds, were the favourites going into the final. Thorkildsen had to settle for sixth place with his attempt of 82.63 while Vesely was fourth with 83.34. “At the end of the day, it was unfortunate she was denied a chance in the final. It’s a tough one,” added Voisin.
It will be recorded in history as Borel’s second time qualifying for the Olympic final. Her first was when she made her debut at the 2004 Athens Olympics in Greece, finishing tenth in the women’s shot put with an 18.35 throw. In 2008, she placed 17th in qualification round with her best attempt at 17.96m. “Yes she is now recorded as a finalist which qualifies her if she wishes to continue to Rio 2016,” said Lewis. “It just shows that T&T athletes tried to do it the right way. They followed the rules and were drug-free. They must be recognised for that.”
By: Rachael Thompson-King
Source: www.guardian.co.tt