James Hewish (born unknown) is an Australian short track speed skating referee who works for ISU. He participated in the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics as the chief referee in the short track speed skating events.

Refereeing career

In the men's 1500 m short track speed skating event of the 2002 Winter Olympics, with one lap remaining and currently in second place, Apolo Ohno of the United States attempted to make a pass on the leader Kim Dong-Sung of South Korea, who then drifted to the inside and as a result, Ohno raised his arms to imply he was blocked. Kim finished first ahead of Ohno, but Hewish disqualified Kim for what appeared to be impeding, awarding the gold medal to Ohno.[1] South Korean media accused Ohno of simulating a foul, using the Konglish word "Hollywood action".[2] The disqualification of Kim upset South Korean supporters, many of whom directed their anger at Ohno and the International Olympic Committee. A large number of e-mails protesting the race results crashed the IOC's email server, and thousands of accusatory letters, many of which contained death threats, were sent to Ohno and the IOC. Hewish also received a significant backlash from the supporters of the South Korean team and fans.[3][4][5][6][7]

Hewish again disqualified the South Korean team, who finished first, in the women's 3000m relay final at the 2010 Winter Olympics for blocking a Chinese skater. James subsequently received abusing and threatening emails including personal death threats from angry South Korean fans.[8] A bomb threat was also made by a disgruntled fan against the Australian Embassy in Seoul, however it was later determined to be a hoax.[9] James was provided police protection as a result of the threats.

References

  1. ↑ "Ohno Finishes Second". St. Petersburg Times. 24 August 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Ohno slammed by Koreans in bitter echo of 2002". Agence France-Presse. 16 February 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Skating union rejects protest of South Korean's DQ". Associated Press. 21 February 2002. Archived from the original on 29 October 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2007 – via CNN.
  4. ↑ 이정진 (22 February 2002). IOC 홈페이지 마비 사태 [IOC's website paralyzed]. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via Naver.
  5. ↑ "Ohno disqualified in 500, U.S. falls in 5,000 relay". Associated Press. 23 February 2002. Archived from the original on 1 March 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2007 – via ESPN.
  6. ↑ 강훈상 (21 February 2002). 동계올림픽 쇼트트랙 판정에 네티즌 분노 '폭발' [Netizens explode their anger over short track ruling at the Winter Olympics]. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via Naver.
  7. ↑ 강훈상 (21 February 2002). 美 쇼트트랙 오노선수 홈페이지 '다운' [Website of American short track player Ohno crashed]. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via Naver.
  8. ↑ "Aussie skate referee Jim Hewish faces death threats from angry South Korean fans". Herald Sun. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  9. ↑ "Australian judge under police protection at Winter Olympics". The Australian. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2011.


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