A California high school sprinter was disqualified from the state championships after winning the 400-meter final because of a post-race celebration officials deemed unsportsmanlike.
Clara Adams, a sophomore at North Salinas High School, crossed the finish line first at last Saturday’s meet and immediately ran to her father, David Adams, to celebrate. He handed her a fire extinguisher, which she used to spray her shoes—emulating the iconic “shoes on fire” move made famous by Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene, according to local station KSBW.
The crowd erupted. Even California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) officials initially reacted positively. But that excitement quickly turned when CIF ruled the act unsportsmanlike, disqualified Adams, and stripped her of her title.
“I worked so hard for that title,” Clara Adams said, disappointed by the decision.“I don’t know what’s going through my mind right now,” the teen told the Mercury News in event’s aftermath.
“I’m disappointed and I feel robbed. I am in shock. They [officials] yelled at me and told me, ‘We’re not letting you on the podium.’ They took my moment away from me.”
Her father pushed back on the decision: “When she blew the fire extinguisher, the opponents were gone. That was our moment of celebration, and CIF officials made it about them. The crowd went crazy, they loved it, the CIF booth went crazy, they loved it. But those few guys in those jackets took offense to it, didn’t like it, and made a decision based off emotions.”
Greene, who first performed the celebration after a record-breaking sprint in 1999, weighed in as well.
“When I heard, cause it happened, and then people just started calling me ‘This girl who just ran the 400 did your celebration’ I was like huh? What?” Greene said. “If it was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her.”
David Adams also faced scrutiny for hopping the railing onto the track after the race, a move he said was in response to how officials treated his daughter in the aftermath.
Now, despite clocking the fastest time in the state, Clara Adams went home without a medal. Even if reinstated, the moment of being crowned a champion is one she no longer gets to claim.