The organizers’ threat worked. The Olympic vice-champion withdrew from the next start

Julia Marino won silver in slopstyle in skateboarding. She was also supposed to appear in the big air competition, where she also had a chance for a medal. However, she decided to withdraw from the competition and prematurely end her participation in the competition. Reason? Partly because she fell in training and broke her tailbone. But also partly because the organizers threatened to disqualify her.

Absurdity at the games. The IOC wanted to disqualify a competitor for Prada equipment

What did Marino say to officials? It is her snowboard made by Prada. The company name was on the bottom of the board and also on the competitor’s helmet. By law, athletes are not allowed to advertise any companies that are not sponsors of the Games or are not manufacturers of sports equipment. Before competing in slopestyle, Marino had to tap the Prada logo on the helmet. Then the board did not bother him yet. This changed after one of the trainings before the big air competition.

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“For all those who ask: the night before the big air competition, the IOC told me that they no longer approve my board, even though they approved it for slopestyle. They told me that I would be disqualified if I did not cover it. logo “- Marino wrote on Instagram.

The IOC notified the US national team that Marino was not following the rules and must paint over, cover the logo or use another board. The IOC claimed that Prada was not a sports brand. In response, the Americans wrote that Marino has the same right to compete with the Prada skateboard as other athletes with equipment from other companies. It has been added that covering the Prada inscription is impossible, because it causes interference with the bottom, which is supposed to slip. “For these reasons, we are asking the IOC to reconsider its position and allow Julia Marino to use the board she used in slopestyle competitions,” wrote US Olympic Committee Vice President Dean Nakamura in a letter to the IOC.

However, the IOC persisted. Finally, Marino painted over the text with a red marker. In the next training session, she broke again and in the end she quit participating in the competition. “I just felt physically and mentally exhausted from everything that happened to me,” she wrote on Instagram. “I was very excited about driving the slopestyle that was most important to me and decided not to risk any further injuries. Even if it did not seem to be the highest priority of the IOC,” concluded Marino.