(Reuters) -Swiss skier Fanny Smith will be awarded the women’s ski cross Olympic bronze medal after her yellow card for an infringement in the Winter Games final was overturned by an appeals commission, the International Ski Federation (FIS) said on Saturday.
Smith, a bronze medallist at Pyeongchang 2018, was relegated to fourth after a prolonged review of the final in Zhangjiakou resulted in the FIS jury deciding that she had impeded Germany’s Daniela Maier, who was awarded the bronze medal.
FIS said in a statement on Saturday: “The Appeals Commission found that the close proximity of the racers at that moment resulted in action that was neither intentional or avoidable.
“The jury decision should have been rendered as an official warning, which as written in the Guidelines on Intentional Contact, would lead to no sanction.”
“Of course I’m relieved about this decision,” Smith said in a release put out by Swiss Ski, the national federation. “I was always convinced that I hadn’t made a mistake. At the same time, it hurts me to think about Daniela Maier, who is now suffering from the situation.”
Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund won the gold medal, while Canada’s Marielle Thompson claimed the silver.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
