Objections

Two major objections in the Olympic Stadium yesterday were both turned down by the organisers shortly after reviewing the video and equipment evidence.

The first came from the Italian federation concerning the winning long jump of Spain's Niurka Montalvo. The Italians argued that their jumper, Fiona May, deserved the gold medal because Montalvo's final jump of 7.06 metres (which also took her ahead of May) touched the plasticine beyond the board - even if it didn't make a mark - and should have been a foul.

The rule book, however, states that no mark on the plasticine means no foul and the jump was legal - much to the delight, of course, of the home support.

The second complaint came from the Americans who believed that their 110 metre hurdles Mark Crear was unfairly dismissed from his quarter-final due to a false start. But they couldn't argue with the Seiko-timed starting equipment. The system measures the pressure exerted on the foot-plates of the starting block, taking readings every millisecond and identifying when the athlete makes his first deliberate movement.