BANGKOK - William Morrison III rued the quality and consistency of officiating during the athletics’ competitions at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games at Suphachalasai National Stadium, saying these SEA Games are the “worst I've ever been to.”
Morrison expressed disappointment over what he described as questionable decisions that, in his view, affected the fairness and flow of the shot put competition when he ended up with a bronze medal.
'Lots of issues'
"Man, lots of issues, man. They're saying that my shot put didn't weigh in. This is the only place my shot put hasn't weighed in. I've used that shot put at Asian Games, Asian Championship, in the States, in Canada, Japan, everywhere I've used it. It's never been lightweight. And all of a sudden here, it's lightweight," said Morrison.
Morrison cited instances where delays disrupted events, noting that such issues can have a direct impact on an athlete's focus and results.
"And then I'm throwing, and they're going to stop me in the middle of my throw? Like, why would they do that? Like, why would you stop me in the middle of my throw? Just to fix my bib," added Morrison.
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"That's not important. Would you stop one of the sprinters from running when they're about to get in their blocks? And then the shot puts that they provided were ____t. They were not balanced," Morrison rued.
"If you spin it on the ground, you can see the central... I don't know. What do you call it? There's no balance in it. It won't even stay still when you balance it. And they're brand new. Like, who's going to throw with a brand new shot put? Just the fact that they're talking to me between every single throw and stopping me in the middle of my throw is _____t. Like, this is the worst SEA Games I've ever been to."
Despite the challenges, Morrison won the bronze medal with a throw of 16.66m, losing to Malaysian Jonah Chang Rigan, who took home the gold with an 18.78m throw, in the process breaking Morrison's Games record of 18.14m from 2021.
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