Roquet Legues, competing for France, was awarded the silver medal in the women’s 100-meter speed skating race in the Winter Olympic Games. Her time was 0.0009 seconds slower than the winning time of Kuhl Brieze, the German competitor who was awarded the gold medal. However, in conflict with the time clock results from the photo finish, television video appeared to show Legues as the winner, suggesting the possibility of mechanical error by the official race camera. Based on the videotape evidence of possible error in the results and the minuscule time difference involved, Legues and the French NGB requested that the IOC award gold medals to both Legues and Brieze. Due to a delay in obtaining the videotape from the television network, their appeal was not filed until just before the medal ceremony, which occurred three hours after the race. The IOC declined to change the medal awards, and Legues appealed that decision to the CAS.
1. What are the major issues presented here that the CAS will have to address?
2. How has the CAS ruled on these issues in past cases?
3. Should it make a difference to the CAS that the results challenged here were obtained by high-tech equipment rather than by human judges or officials?
4. Here, the event was completed, unlike the Yang Tae-Young case, in which the gymnasts had more performance rounds to complete after the judging error occurred. Should this fact affect the decision of the CAS?
5. In your opinion, how should the CAS rule in this case?