Tasmania's first three-time Paralympian Todd Hodgetts found himself in the midst of a controversial finish on a rain-soaked night in Tokyo.
The 33-year-old, who won gold and bronze medals in London and Rio respectively, appeared to come seventh in a fiercely-contested F20 shot put for athletes with an intellectual impairment.
However, he was among three throwers - including reigning champion and runaway winner Malaysian Muhammad Zolkefli - competing under protest having initially been told they arrived late to the call room before their event.
The trio protested the decision and were allowed to compete but were subsequently listed as "did not start" on the official results.
Paralympics Australia has subsequently appealed the decision.
The saga blighted an excellent competition in which three different throwers surpassed the existing world record including its holder, Zolkefli, who extended it to 17.94m.
Despite increasing rain, Hodgetts, a Launceston-born Newstead Athletics product who is now based in Melbourne, consistently improved his distance from 15.23 to 15.27, 15.40, 15.41 and finally 15.48m.
Ukrainians Maksym Koval (17.34m) and Oleksandr Yarovyi (17.30m) were promoted to gold and silver with Efstratios Nikolaidis (15.93m), of Greece, awarded bronze.
Asked how he felt about the decision, Hodgetts told Channel Seven: "I'm good. Life is not over at all and I'm going to keep going because I put my body on the line.
"It's not over.
"Shot put means everything to me, it saved my life. All those knockers out there who kept knocking me, I came back and represented my country.
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"I'm going to go on to Brisbane when I'll be 44 years of age. The world record holder was 44 when he got a PB, nothing's impossible in this world.
"You've got to look to the future, not the past."
Channel Seven reporter Matt Carmichael was quick to criticise the decision.
"If that is eventually held up as a 'did not start' it would seem to be absolutely ridiculous because it had no effect whatsoever on the competition and we can see when we speak to Todd Hodgetts how much it means to him and all the other guys to compete. For the sake of a couple of minutes, surely, common sense has to prevail here."
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
