上期提到李慧詩被撞跌，也撞走了她的晉級資格，本星期我們來看看其他的「跌倒事件」。
美國徑隊在大賽跌棒有多次前科，跌棒並非個別事件（not an isolated incident），就這屆奥運的美國女子4×100比賽，《今日美國》（USA Today）有以下報告︰
......Four American women running on an otherwise empty track, honing their relay skills in advance of the actual competition. ... albeit under circumstances never before seen on the Olympics stage.
四位美國女子在唯一有跑手的跑道上競走，在真正比賽前夕，他們提前磨練接力技巧。儘管這是奥運舞台前所未見的景況。
And the script stayed true to form until the second exchange - or, to be more precise, until the seconds before the second exchange, when a bump from a Brazilian runner in the adjacent lane propelled Felix into a tap-dance routine that sent the baton flying, for a moment taking with it the team's hopes of defending its gold.
故事一直照劇本進行，直至交第二棒，或更準確地說，當一個來自相鄰跑道的巴西跑手撞了入來，把菲歷絲推歪，令接力棒移開的同時，衛冕的希望也隨之遠離她們。
Then it was the protest itself, filed by USA Track and Field and accepted by the Rio Games' Jury of Appeals, which agreed with the assertion that Felix's progress was impeded prior to the exchange. China, which held the eighth spot in the final before being bounced out by the USA, filed its own protest in response, which was denied.
隨之而來便是上訴，由美國田徑協會申訴並獲里奥上訴陪審團接納，他們接受菲歷絲的聲明，認同她的前進是在交棒前受阻，中國隊本來排在第八位，最後被美國隊「撞走」，而中國隊的反對就不被接納。
越軌慣例 只能無奈
在4×100的接力賽，跑手是不能越「軌」的，在過往的處理方法，只有取消犯規者的資格（disqualify），受害人（victim）只可嘆無奈，絕無單獨重賽（rerun）的一回事。要是如此，為何李慧詩沒有得到重賽的安排呢？
在國際舞台上，我們是否得到公平對待（on an equal footing）呢？這正是雙重標準（double standard）。■林健根 會計師
星期五見報