Finish-line shot of the 1938 100-meter race at Helsinki Olympic Stadium (photo credit: public domain, via Wikipedia)
HELSINKI — Seventy-five years later, the Finnish Athletics Federation has apologized for listing a Jewish sprinter as finishing fourth in a race that he clearly won.
Abraham Tokazier, who represented the Makkabi sports club, ran the 100 meters in a 1938 Finnish national competition at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium.
He was declared the fourth-place finisher, even though he was clearly seen crossing the line first in a photograph published the next day in a local newspaper.
Finnish Athletics says any manipulation or falsification of results is “shocking and against the basic principles of sports.”
Finish-line shot of the 1938 100-meter race at Helsinki Olympic Stadium (photo credit: public domain, via Wikipedia)
Federation chairman Vesa Harmaakorpi says, “I present our humblest apologies over this issue to all those and their nearest ones who have suffered wrongdoing.”
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Spokesman Eero Ramo says international rules don’t allow results to be adjusted later.
Jewish groups have for years demanded the result be changed to reflect Tokazier’s win.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
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