A Korean fencer who lost a dramatic Olympic semi-final in controversial circumstances Monday likely fell victim to human error or malfunctioning timing equipment, the general secretary of the sport's federation said
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The official score showed the female fencer, A Lam Shin, lost 5-6 in overtime to Germany's Britta Heidemann in the sport's individual epee discipline.
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But timing equipment had not been activated toward the end of the semi-final, allowing Heidemann extra time to register points.
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Had the contest ended 5-5, Lam would have advanced to the final.
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The result left Lam in tears and prompted her coaches to file an appeal, which happened to be delayed due to the failure of the team to include a payment with it.
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South Korea's Shin A Lam is escorted by officials out of the field. Photo: AFP
"It was most likely that there was some failure with the equipment or the button had been pressed in time," said general secretary Maxim Paramonov.
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"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."
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Paramonov said he regrets the fact that the sport depends on "such equipment".
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"But the technical committee made the right decision," which he said was final.
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Lam Shin, meanwhile, proceeded to the bronze medal match, where she lost to China's Yujie Sun.
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