The iF3 has now received the full report from Laurent Selleslaghs, the investigator appointed to handle Victor Ljungdahl’s Administrative Complaint.
The investigator found that during the Power Test at iF3 Worlds 2023 the scores for Erik Vadahl and Morten Rasch Arnesen, while recorded in hundredths of a second by the chip timers, were rounded to the nearest tenth of second when entered into the leaderboard platform. This rounding did in fact affect Victor’s final podium place. Under the iF3 Competition rules, Victor did not have appeal rights at the competition as the rounding did not affect his person score. Therefore, the Administrative Complaint via Article 9 of the iF3 Bylaws was the appropriate mechanism for addressing his concern.
Investigator Selleslaghs noted two main issues which he examined in his investigation;
a) whether the rounding of the scores was the correct scoring methodology to use according to iF3 Rules and
b) regardless if the methodology was correct, was it applied equally across all athletes and all scores.
Looking at point b), the investigation revealed that no other scores on any test had been rounded. It is important to note that for the vast majority of scores, rounding would have made no difference in athlete finishing order and would be essentially irrelevant. However, there were two scores in the Male 19-20 Power Test, and 6 scores in the Male Endurance test where rounding would have affected the finishing order had it been utilized. Thus, the investigation found that the rounding rule was not applied equally across all athletes and all tests.
No intentional misconduct was alleged by the Complainant, and no such evidence is present. This scoring methodology discrepancy was borne purely out of several well-intentioned people attempting to apply the right rules while under a tight time constraint to finalize scores.
Regardless whether rounding of times was a correct rule to implement according to iF3 rules, the fact is, it was not instituted equally. It is of vital importance that every athlete that walks onto the competition floor is playing by the same rules. In this case, an inequity occurred and it is the responsibility of iF3 to remediate this inequity in the name of fair sport.
As such the iF3, has elevated Mr. Ljungdahl’s podium finish to a second place finish. He will receive a second place medal shortly.
As important as it is for all athletes to be treated equally under the rules, it is equally important for athletes not to be harmed when the iF3 makes a mistake. Thus, it is critical not only that Mr. Ljungdahl’s situation is rectified but equally critical that Mr. Arnesen is not harmed by this ruling as he was not an adverse party to this complaint, and he has had no opportunity to voice how this ruling could adversely affect him. Therefore, Mr. Arnesen will retain his second place finish, and he and Mr. Ljungdahl will share the Silver Medal position in the official standings.
The iF3 congratulates both gentlemen on their exceptional performance at Worlds, and apologizes for the mistake. For its part, the iF3 will undertake a review of its rulebook before publication of the 2024 edition to create more clarity around scoring and timing requirements.
