Japan appeals loss of Olympic Committee seat

TOKYO (AFP) –

Koji Murofushi on the podium on August 6 after taking bronze in the hammer at the London Olympics. Japan’s Olympic committee said Tuesday it had appealed against the International Olympic Committee’s decision to void Murofushi’s election to an IOC commission.

Japan’s Olympic committee said Tuesday it had appealed against the International Olympic Committee’s decision to void Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofushi’s election to an IOC commission.

Documents for the appeal were filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, late Monday, the Japanese Olympic Committee said.

Murofushi, 37, who won bronze at the London Olympics, was among the top four candidates out of 21 people running for four seats on the IOC Athletes’ Commission. The election was held at the Athletes’ Village during the Games.

But the IOC disqualified him, saying he had violated election rules by distributing campaign goods, putting up posters bearing his name and campaigning in the village’s cafeteria, where such activity was banned.

“There has been a misinterpretation between the parties. There was not enough time to verify the facts,” Yoshiji Nogami, a member of the national committee’s board, told reporters on Monday, according to Kyodo news.

“We want the rules to be clarified.”

If elected to the commission, Murofushi, the 2004 Athens Olympic champion, could have helped Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics with his position in the world body.

“I have done my utmost as an athlete who shows the spirit of fair play. My respect toward the IOC has not changed, but I must stress that I did not break the rules,” Murofushi said in a statement issued by the national committee.

“I believe that. For myself, confirming this is extremely important.”