France hopes for IOC mercy after canoe confusion costs Tokyo berth

PARIS: The French and international canoe federations have thrown themselves on the mercy of the International Olympic Committee after a confusion over rules deprived Guillaume Burger of an Olympic berth.

The 32-year-old French sprint kayaker finished second in the K1 1,000m in Szeged, Hungary, on May 15. The top two finishers should have qualified automatically for Tokyo.

The next day, the International Canoe Federation disqualified Burger saying it made an error allowing him to compete.

Third-place finisher Lars Magne Ullvang of Norway took Olympic qualification.

With the number of athletes it can send to Tokyo limited, the canoe federation has quota rules to limit entries in qualifying competitions.

It only added Burger to the list of competitors two days before competition in Szeged.

“We wrote to the international federation to ask if we were eligible,” said Ludovic Roye, the French canoe federation technical director. “They replied ‘yes’ in writing.”

The international canoe federation then decided it had made a mistake.

“The international federation apologised,” Burger told sports daily L’Equipe. “I came to qualify for the Olympics and afterwards I was told that France was not eligible.”

“I’ve been sweating for 15 years and giving my all to get this selection and I’m told I won’t qualify because of a simple oversight.”

“The hope is that the people from the federation have recognised that the mistake was theirs. We are going to set up an appeal with the international federation, with the French federation and with the Norwegian federation.”

“The aim is to go to the IOC, which is the guarantor of sportsmanship and fair play... We hope to get a quota back, without harming the Norwegian.”

Ullvang said Burger had his support.

“It feels completely surreal! This is something I have worked for and dreamed of,” he wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately, the joy has an aftertaste when my good news became this guy’s big disappointment...Guillaume Burger really hope to see you at the starting line in Tokyo !!”

Roye suggested the French could go to court.

“We prefer to take this route for the moment, to ask for the IOC’s benevolence, rather than go before the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” he said.